


Crossing A Line

by StarShine583



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Le Paon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 91,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28838877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarShine583/pseuds/StarShine583
Summary: Grieving for you lost mother was a hard thing to do. Having a supervillain rise up in your home city was admittedly a bit more challenging. But discovering that yourfatheris the supervillain and that he's doing it for your mother who was never really lost? That's just plain ridiculous. Life was simply mocking Felix now...so why did he up getting roped into the mockery anyway?
Relationships: Marinette/Felix, felinette
Comments: 15
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the next completed story from my tumblr Starshine583. After I transfer this story over, I'll transfer everything that I have currently for my last story, then the updates will match up with my updates on tumblr. Hope you enjoy!

**~WHY IS MY LIFE LIKE THIS????~**

Felix sighed. Adrien was always so dramatic.

**~What happened this time?~**

**~I was so close Fe SO CLOSE! Like I was on the stairs and at the door!!~**

**~And?~**

**~and then I saw this poor old guy who fell and lost his cane 😓~**

Felix face palmed. 

**~You wasted your 13th attempt at a school life for an old man who was probably dying tomorrow anyway?~**

**~I couldn’t just leave him there! How can you be so heartless?!~**

**~Call it a family trait. All I’m saying is that that was our closest shot, and Father is starting to suspect that I’m the one disrupting the video feed on the security cameras.~**

Why Adrien wanted to go to public school so badly was beyond Felix. They were already surrounded by people daily for photoshoots. He, personally, wasn’t interested in seeing more humans than necessary at this point. They only think about themselves and cause drama. Goodness knows he has enough of that with the reporters constantly looming outside the front gate.

**~I know I know. we’re coming home now~**

**~I will see you soon then.~**

Felix set down his phone, gingerly going back to his book. He wanted to enjoy the quiet as much as possible before his little brother got home.

-

Adrien sulked through the front door around twenty minutes later. Nathalie and Gorilla were right behind him, indifferent as always. 

“Your lessons resume in five minutes. Go to the dining room to prepare.” Nathalie ordered, glancing at Felix before moving towards their Father’s office. 

“Yes, Nathalie.” Adrien sighed, pulling his bag over his shoulder.

Felix sent a glare to Nathalie and Gorilla as Adrien passed, then followed his sibling into the dining room to show him what they were doing for today’s lesson.

-

Nathalie came in a few minutes later. Felix had already finished the homework he’d been assigned. Therefore, he continued reading while they started review.

“Who was the first president of the fifth French republic?”

Adrien propped his arm up on the table, resting his chin on his palm as he recited the answer. “Everyone thinks it was De Gaulle, but it was actually Rene Cote before the first elections.” 

Felix nodded to himself. He remembered learning those names last year in school. 

“Excellent, Adrien!” Nathalie praised, turning to him with a smile.

Felix rolled his eyes. If she really cared for the boy, she would do something about his wish to go to public school. Adrien had only begged her a hundred times.

“Give me a minute, would you, Nathalie?” 

A chill ran down Felix’s spine when his Father spoke from the doorway. His gaze flicked to Adrien, who suddenly looked stiff.

“Yes, sir.” Nathalie replied, submissively standing to the side.

Gabriel turned his hollow eyes on Adrien, and Feix tensed. He didn’t mind helping Adrien out with his schemes, but standing up to their Father was still hard. 

“You’re not going to school, Adrien. I’ve already told you.” He stated sternly.

Adrien stood. “But, Father-”

“Everything you need is right here where I can keep an eye on you. I will not have you in that dangerous world.” 

“It’s not dangerous, Father. I’m always stuck in here by myself-”

“You have Felix, don’t you?” Gabriel countered, and Adrien flinched.

He didn’t mean it. He didn’t mean _alone_ alone. Felix knew that. It was just different, being with family and being with friends. 

“Why can’t I just make friends like everyone else?” Adrien continued to argue. Felix couldn’t decide if it was bold or stupid. 

“Because you’re not like everyone else. You are my son.” Gabriel snapped. “Continue.” 

With those final words, he walked away, leaving them in a heavy silence.

After a moment, Nathalie spoke, “We can leave it there for today if you-”

Adrien ran out of the room before she could finish. Felix sighed, standing and picking up his books. No doubt he’d be pouting about this for the rest of the day.

“Wonderful work, Sancoeur. You’ve collectively ruined everyone’s day.” Felix bit out, sending her another hateful glare.

Nathalie straightened, returning his glare with an impassive expression. “I was only doing my job.” 

Felix rolled his eyes again. “Keep telling yourself that.” 

He slipped his books into his brown, leather bag, and headed for the door.. in the opposite direction of Adrien. 

“Where are you going?” Nathalie asked, a strange sense of panic rising in her voice.

“To talk with my Father.” Felix answered shortly, not even stopping or looking in her direction.

“Wait! You can’t, he’s busy!” She said, her heels clicking on the floor as she ran to him. 

Felix scoffed, picking up his pace. “Don’t act like you can order me around like you do Adrien.” 

He barely made it to the office door before Nathalie, throwing it open and ducking inside.

“Father, I wanted to-” 

He stopped. The room was empty. Didn’t Gabriel just come in here, though? Where else would he have gone?

Felix scanned the room, his eyes landing on a small hole in the floor next to his mother’s portrait. As soon as he noticed it, though, the hole vanished. 

He blinked, rubbing his eyes and looking at the floor again. This wasn’t some trick of the light, right? He’d definitely seen a hole. 

“Felix!” Nathalie scolded, pulling him out of the room and closing the door. “I told you not to go in there!”

“And I told you you’re not my boss.” Felix hissed, yanking his arm out of her grasp. 

Before Nathalie could reply, the two were thrown off by something he assumed was an earthquake, except it had rhythm. It vaguely reminded him of.. Footsteps?

“What’s going on?” He thought aloud, glancing towards the window. Adrien- when did he come downstairs? -ran past him, opening the front door. Felix followed him and they both stopped on the front steps, watching the scene before them slack-jawed.

Police men and cars lined the streets. He didn’t understand why until this- this thing came stomping towards them.

“Ready?” The main officer called, holding his arm out to his comrades. “Fire!”

Felix watched as they shot at the giant rock monster. It growled and curled in on itself. Then, to everyone’s horror, it got bigger.

Adrien and Felix closed the doors, retreating back to their room to see what was happening. 

**_As incredible as it seems, it’s been confirmed that Paris is indeed being attacked by a super villain._ **A reporter Felix recognized as Nadja Shamack said over the TV screen. **_The police have been struggling to keep the situation under control._**

“Stay here. I’m going to lock down the house.” Felix instructed, hurrying out the door as the main officer from earlier appeared on the screen.

-

To his annoyance, Nathalie and Gorilla were still standing by the window, doing nothing. 

_What did we even hire them for!_ He thought bitterly, marching down the stairs. He didn’t bother acknowledging them as he got to the control system and began putting the house on lockdown. Where would the safest place to hide be? They didn’t have a basement. Not one that he knew of, anyway. Perhaps they could hide in a bathroom? What do you even do in these kinds of situations?

Felix finished locking down the windows and doors, promptly going back to his room to grab Adrien. 

Panic twisted in his stomach when he opened the door, only to find Adrien gone and the window open. It must have been open before he got to the system, since it was the only one without a metal plate in front of it.

No, no, no, no, what was Adrien doing _now_?

“Adrien Agreste, if this is some sort of joke, I swear I’m not laughing!” He yelled, leaning out the second story window. How would Adrien even get out this way?

A groan of exasperation escaped him when there was no answer. This kid was going to be the death of him!

Now in full-blown panic mode, Felix raced back down to the control systems. As soon as he had the front doors unlocked, he was gone, darting down the streets and shouting for Adrien.

~~~~~

Two hours. Two. full. _Freaking_. Hours. That’s how long he searched for that boy. And he _still hadn’t found him_. Not a trace.

After seeing the reports of a “Ladybug and Chat Noir” over the news and hearing the danger was over, Felix finally decided to head home. If Adrien was dead, he deserved it. If he wasn’t, he would be when Felix got his hands on him.

He trudged up the mansion steps- which he was getting _real_ tired of, by the way- and headed for their bedroom. Once inside, he made a point to slam the door behind him, and just _fall_ onto the couch. He was so done. So tired from walking around all of Paris for _nothing_.

“Felix?” A voice inquired.

He froze.

No.

_No._

Slowly, Felix rose from his position on the couch. It better not be him. If he was here this _whole time_ -

There Adrien stood. Innocently staring at him as if he _hadn’t_ sent Felix on a wild goose chase for two hours straight. 

“ _Where_ have you _been_?” Felix bit out, getting to his feet.

Adrien took a step back, the only smart decision he’s made all day. 

“W-what do you mean? I’ve- you know -I’ve been here, haven’t I?” He stammered, scratching the back of his head and moving back again as Felix got closer.

Dang right, he _should_ be scared.

“Adrien, I am going to _throttle_ you myself!” He growled, lunging for his poor, defenseless sibling. 

Adrien yelped, ducking away from Felix and jumping over the bed.

“Boys!” Nathalie suddenly interrupted, causing the two to pause mid jump. 

“You’re dinner is ready. Come downstairs.” She instructed, leaving as quickly and quietly as she came. Felix huffed, crawling off the bed and glaring at Adrien.

“Soon.” He warned, smirking when Adrien shivered.

“Sorry I made you worry.” The blonde apologized, maneuvering around him to get to the door.

Felix sighed. “Just save the escape tactics for tomorrow morning.” 

“We’re trying for school again tomorrow?” Adrien grinned.

“If you’re done wailing like a Disney Princess.” He teased.

Adrien scoffed. “Whatever, Fe. what’s the new plan?” 

~~~~~~

Felix pulled back the curtain to one of the front windows. Still no cars in the driveway.

He checked his phone. Despite Adrien leaving half an hour ago, he had no new messages.

“I guess he succeeded then.” Felix shrugged to himself, putting his phone in his back pocket. Then he felt a buzz.

He winced, taking his phone back out to see Adrien had indeed sent him a message. They were probably in the car again.

Felix opened the app, ready to read an essay on how the plan failed this time or why Adrien couldn’t just be a normal kid. To his surprise, there was only a picture. A picture of a classroom with students filling the seats. 

A few more pictures were sent, one being a selfie with- ugh -Chloe Bourgeois. He hated that girl. Another picture had the rest of the class in it, then there was one with a single girl. She had a black, half sleeved jacket, and raven-colored hair, which was pulled into pigtails. Her eyes were hard to catch in the photo, but they seemed to be a blue-ish color. She was, in a word, pretty.

Felix was pulled from his thoughts when the front door creaked open. Ah. good. They were home. 

He quietly stashed his phone in his bag of books, creeping to the door of the dining room. Peeking around the doorframe, he saw Gorilla go upstairs- probably trying to find him - and Nathalie slip into Gabriel’s office. What excuse was she going to give for not getting Adrien?

“Sir, we didn’t get to Adrien in time.” The secretary informed in a monotonous tone.

**_What!_** His father’s voice growled. It almost sounded like it came from a screen. Shouldn’t he be home?

Glancing at the stairs to make sure Gorilla was still absent, Felix carefully cracked open the door. Not much, just enough to see inside.

Nathalie faced the computer screen across from his mother’s portrait. 

**_I’m coming up there and I want an immediate explanation!_ **

_Up_ there? 

Nathalie nodded. “Yes sir.” 

The screen flickered off, and she sighed.

“You’re lucky.” The women said out of the blue. Felix thought she’d seen him, until she turned to the painting of Emilie.

“He’s risking everything for you, to bring you back.” 

_Bring you back._ What does that mean?

Nathalie shook her head, hugging her tablet to her chest and leaning against the desk. “I wish he loved _me_ that way.” 

Felix’s nose scrunched up in disgust. Nathelie and his father? What a wretched pairing.

Something in the room clicked, and Nathalie straightened. A circle in the middle of the floor rattled, before descending into the ground.

So it hadn’t been a trick of the light! There _was_ a hole! But why?

Gabriel rose from the “secret elevator” a few seconds later, a nasty look on his face.

“I give you _one_ job to do!” He huffed, clasping his hands tightly behind his back.

“Adrien just wants to go to school, sir. He’s not going to stop running away until that happens.” Nathalie defended.

“Then double the body guards! He’s no time for school with everything else he has to do.”

“I could reorganize his schedule?” Nathalie offered, already unlocking her tablet to do so.

“Then what about while he’s there? He won’t agree to Gorilla going with him, and neither will the school. I don’t trust them to watch my son properly!” 

Felix drew in a breath to calm his nerves. If Adrien was to ever have a school life, it was now or never.

“If it’s supervision you’re worried about,” He started, opening the door fully, “Then send me to school with him.” 

Nathalie jumped. “Felix, how long have you been there?” 

“I’ll personally see to it that Adrien stays in line.” He finished, ignoring Nathalie’s question.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “You would go to school with him?”

Well, that wasn’t a no.

“Yes.”

“I thought you hated any form of public outings.”

Felix shrugged. “Will you let Adrien go to school or not?” 

Gabriel pressed his lips together, thinking it over. 

“Alright.” He relented. “But _make sure_ you keep an eye on him. If I hear _anything_ regarding bad behavior, you will both be pulled out of the school immediately.”

Felix nodded, hiding a triumphant smile as he exited the room. No need to stay longer than necessary and ruin his chances. 

~~~~~~~

Felix stared out the car window, watching the buildings pass. The rock monsters from yesterday suddenly sprouted up again that morning. They rampaged through Paris, destroying everything in their path. Thankfully, the new superheroes saved the day, but something still plagued his mind.

A face constructed of butterflies had appeared around the end of the fight, announcing itself as Hawkmoth. That was concerning on its own, yes, but the voice sounded so.. Familiar. He couldn’t place where he’d heard it before, but he’d definitely heard it.

“Where are we going again?” Adrien asked dejectedly, slumping against the car door. It was pathetic really.

“We’re almost there.” Felix answered vaguely.

The car rolled to a stop in front of the school a few minutes later, and the screen in front of them flickered to life, revealing their Father.

_**You disobeyed me, Adrien. Take a look at that school.** _

Adrien frowned, looking at the building as he was told, then bowed his head. “Yes, Father.” 

_**You will never, I say never, go back there again.** _

“Father, no-”

**_Without your bodyguard. He will drop you off and pick you up everyday. Nathalie has offered to organize your new schedule, and Felix has agreed to attend with you in case something should happen. You’ll be continuing your music, Chinese, and fencing classes and your photoshoots._ **

The grin on Adrien’s face erased any doubts Felix had about going to school with him. Considering his brother hadn’t been that happy since their Mother went missing, he supposed he could put a little effort into this whole “public school” scenario.

“Thank you, Nathalie! Thank you, Father! Come on, Fe!” Adrien beamed, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the car. “I’m gonna show you all of my new friends!” 

“You have friends?” 

Then again, it was _Adrien_. Why should he be surprised?

-

As they neared the classroom, Felix heard a revolting voice he distinctly remembered as Chloe Bourgeois. 

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?” She sneered. 

Another voice, one he didn’t recognize. “It means that I’m not putting up with your crud anymore, Chloe, and neither is anyone else around here, so take your attitude and go on! Get lost!” 

Bold words for someone speaking to the Mayor’s daughter. You could get in a lot of trouble for that. In other words, Felix already liked whoever was responsible.

They walked in just in time to see Chloe begrudgingly sit down in the front row. He also noticed a ravenette in the second row sitting down. Felix smirked when he realized it was the same girl from the picture Adrien sent him earlier.

“Yo, dude! Who’s the second Adrien?” A dark-skinned boy greeted them, smiling towards Felix.

“Nino, this is my brother, Felix.” Adrien introduced, patting Felix on the back.

“Good to have you in class with us.” The red-capped boy grinned, politely offering his hand.

“I’m only visiting today. Tomorrow, I’m going to Mr. Chevalier’s class.” Felix replied flatly, shaking Nino’s hand. 

Adrien waved the girls in the second row, only for the pigtailed girl to humph and turn away. 

_Looks like she’s also the one Adrien had that misunderstanding with._

His brother sighed, sitting next to Nino who nudged him encouragingly. Speaking of which, where was he going to sit?

Felix’s eyes glazed over the room. The seats appeared to be full, except for the one in the back. At least he’d be the furthest away from anyone.

~~~~~~~

Marinette held her hand out towards the grey sky, sighing when she felt the steady rhythm of raindrops on her palm. Great. Rain. That was _exactly_ what she needed right now. Not only had the responsibility of saving Paris been dumped on her, but she also had a new bully to deal with at school. And both of those instances happened in the span of _two days_! Now, it was pouring and she _really_ didn’t feel like getting soaked on the walk home.

A scoff of disgust came from her right, and she jumped.

“How _convenient_.” A boy said sarcastically, reaching out his hand like she’d done moments before. His dark grey and black attire matched the colors of the clouds, which she would have found humorous if she didn’t remember who he was from roll call.

“You’re Adrien’s brother, right?” 

The blonde glanced in her direction, his silver eyes looking her over. “Yes, that’s correct.” 

Marinette frowned and crossed her arms at the answer. “Then I guess that means you’re Chloe’s friend, too?” 

His scowl surprised her. “Hardly. I would quite literally rather die than be friends with that spoiled brat.” 

A small pause ensued as she took in his answer.

She then smiled, extending her hand to him. “Well, any enemy of Chloe is a friend of mine. I’m Marinette. Nice to meet you.” 

He didn’t respond at first, simply staring at her with a strange expression. 

“Felix.” He finally said, taking her hand in his. For some reason, her heart skipped a beat when he did.

Thunder crackled across the sky, and the two pulled their hands back. 

“Hey, Fe! Sorry I made you wait.” Adrien suddenly called, stopping between them. 

Felix shrugged, catching Marinette’s eye one last time before walking down the steps to a silver car.

Adrien turned to her then with a smile. She huffed and looked away. His brother may be nice- and sort of handsome, though she wasn’t going to address it -but Adrien had still tried to stick gum on her chair the other day. And he was friends with Chloe! She couldn’t trust that. 

The model sighed, wistfully looking up at the sky. 

“I just wanted you to know, that I was only trying to talk the chewing gum off your seat. I swear.”

Marinette blinked, certainly not expecting the apology.

Nevertheless, he continued. “I’ve never been to school before. I’ve never had friends. It’s all sort of.. new to me.” 

He glanced back at her and shrugged, holding out his umbrella to her.

She took it, still staring from shock. That is, until the black umbrella snapped shut around her.

Adrien laughed at the scene, causing her to laugh as well, despite the embarrassment. 

“See you tomorrow.” He smiled, started down the steps again.

“R-right, tomorrow..” She replied absently.

Maybe the Agreste boys weren’t so bad, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Felix glared down at the lump of blankets in front of him, unimpressed.

“Adrien.” He said sharply, picking up a pillow and smacking the pile of blankets with it. “Get up.” 

The pile shifted, and Adrein’s head popped out, mumbling incoherent sentences- something about Ladybug and.. hamsters? He had the weirdest dreams.

Felix huffed and grabbed the edge of the blanket. “This whole school thing-” He ripped off the covers “-was _your_ idea. Get _up_!”

Adrien shivered towards the sudden loss of warmth.

“Fe~ five more minutes~” His little brother whined, lazily grabbing at the air.

Felix scoffed. It’s already been _four days_ since they started school. He should be used to the sleep schedule by now!

Throwing the blankets aside, He scowled and climbed onto the bed. Adrien barely even had time to look at him before Felix shoved him off the bed. 

Adrien yelped, flopping onto the ground. 

“ _Get. Up_.” Felix hissed.

“Fe..” Adrien began, voice muffled from landing face first on the floor. “You haven’t had your coffee yet, have you?” 

“And what if I haven’t!” 

Adrien grunted as he pushed himself off the floor. “Yeah, I figured. I’m gonna go get ready.”

“About _time_.” Felix rolled his eyes.

The blonde chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. “You go get yourself some coffee so I can make it through your grumpy mornings.” 

He narrowed his eyes, though he didn’t argue, simply spinning on his heel and stalking out the door. His caffeine addiction was itching at him anyway, and he could already smell the delectable aroma of freshly brewed coffee grounds. 

Felix reached the bottom of the stairs, sparing a glance to his father’s office. Nathalie stood guard in front of the door, still as a statue. They’d chalked it up to waiting for them in the morning, but Felix knew better. He used to be able to enter Gabriel’s office whenever he wished, until he saw that hole the other day. Suddenly, his Father was “too busy” or “working on a special project that was top secret”. 

They were hiding something, and he was determined to find out what that something was. 

For now, though, coffee.

-

Steam clouded the air as the dark liquid spilled over into the silver thermos. Felix twisted on the cap, ensuring it would stay piping hot, and set the glass pitcher back into the coffee maker. This particular brand was a special cinnamon mix he’d decided to try. 

“I’m ready!” Adrien announced from the doorway. He wore his usual, black t-shirt along with his white, near-short-sleeved jacket and jeans. His wavy, golden hair swept to the side and his smile could probably light up a Christmas tree.

Felix squinted, mockingly holding up his hand as though he were trying to shield his eyes from the sun’s light. “How do you _do_ that?” 

He hadn’t even woken up till five minutes ago! How did he look so _energized_?

“Don’t know whatcha mean, Fe.” The model replied innocently.

Felix rolled his eyes, noting the energy drink Adrien pushed further into his bag. How he got it, Felix doesn’t know, considering their forbidden around the house, but there’s no point in calling him out on the matter. Adrien needs to learn to defy some of their Father’s rules, to be honest. There are far too many of them to be reasonable.

Nathalie cleared her throat from the other room, a quiet sign it was time to leave. 

The boys grabbed the rest of their things, Felix making sure to put his extra thermos in his bag, and headed for the door.

“You got your other thermos?” Adrien asked, mirth reflecting in his bottle green eyes.

Felix nodded, proudly opening his bag to reveal the second thermos. 

Adrien snorted. “You’re so paranoid. Isn’t that heavy or something?” 

He shrugged in response and took a sip of his coffee, sighing in pleasure towards the warm, cinnamon taste. 

“You never know. Best to be prepared.” Felix stated simply.

“Right, right. Well, when you _don’t_ end up using the thermos, I get ten bucks for calling it.” 

Felix smirked. “I’ll take that bet.” 

~~~~~~

 _I’m late, I’m late, I’m sO LATE!_ Marinette panicked, racing down the sidewalk towards the school. How did she manage to sleep through her _three alarm clocks_?!

She rushed up the front steps of the school. The halls were obviously empty since class started five minutes ago. They were probably waiting for her, waiting to make fun of her for being late _again_. It only made things more embarrassing that everyone was most definitely in class all ready.

Well, everyone, except for a certain Felix Agreste, apparently.

Neither had time to register the other’s presence, as Marinette slammed right into his back. Clangs and Thumps echoed through the hallway as their things spilled onto the floor. 

“I-I’m so sorry!” She apologized, immediately kneeling down to pick up their stuff. The books had scattered across the floor, along with an odd, brownish liquid. 

Marinette squinted, following the trail of the mysterious substance to a silver thermos. It took a full minute to register what it was.

Then she completely paled. 

Oh gosh. Oh _gosh_ his _coffee_. She’d made _Felix Agreste_ drop his _coffee_. What was she gonna do? No doubt he’d march right up to the principal’s office and demand she be expelled for her ignorance. What would she tell her parents? Which school she be transferred to? Would she still be able to make friends their? Maybe Alya could visit her on weekends?

A stifled chuckling came to her ears, and she blinked.

Carefully glancing up, She saw Felix brushing off his black vest and dark grey, button-up shirt while _laughing_. 

“Thanks. You just got me ten dollars.” He said, a faint smirk on his lips. 

Marinette blinked again. Did he just.. Thank her? With a _smile_ , no less?? 

Felix knelt down next to her, his pale blonde hair falling over her eyes slightly as he helped her gather the books on the floor. Once he was finished with that, he proceeded to pull _another thermos_ out of his leather backpack. He even pulled out _napkins_!

“How..?” 

“I live with Adrien. He’s a lot more chaotic than you think.” He glanced up at her, a mischievous glint in his cool, blue eyes. “You never know when something like this might happen.”

Marinette felt there was a hidden meaning behind those words. 

“W-well, that’s good..I guess.” She replied dumbly. He was being so.. Nice?? I mean, He’d never been _mean_ to her before. You know, in the four days he’s attended their school, but she’s seen the way he acts around other people, specifically Chloe Bourgeois. Marinette never wanted to be on the end of his bone chilling glares.

The two stood, Marinette shoving her books back into her bag while Felix placed his now-empty thermos in his. 

“I need to go to class. Try to watch where you’re going next time.” He advised, probably sounding more rude than he intended. 

Marinette smile sheepishly and nodded, watching as he walked away. She shook her head, still in disbelief towards his gentle demeanor. They haven’t really talked all that much yet, but maybe they should. 

She ran her hand over her phone, making sure there weren’t any cracks from it hitting the floor.

Then she saw the time and gasped.

“Ah! Now I’m even _more_ late!” 

~~~~~~

Felix almost whistled as he walked into his classroom and sat in his designated seat. That ten dollars was all too easy to achieve. Marinette had been delightfully predictable in her tardiness, and, as he expected, didn’t even see him coming when he stepped out in front of her. He imagined Adrien would grumbled about it when he overheard Marinette tell Alya of the collision in class. 

Her panicked, bluebell eyes and jumbling words came to mind, and he smiled. Even if he _hadn’t_ done it on purpose, Felix wouldn’t have found it in himself to be upset. She was too cute when she got nervous.

Out of the corner of his eye, a brunette-haired boy peeked over the back of his seat, tentatively searching his desk. When his gaze landed on Felix’s cup, the boy sighed in relief and straightened. 

“We’re clear! He’s got his coffee!” The brunette grinned, sliding into the seat next to him. 

Felix rolled his eyes, but a girl in the class giggled.

“You really think lack of coffee is the only reason he’s bitter?” She teased as she approached them, her sky-blue eyes filled with mirth.

“Yeah,” A dark-skinned boy in the seat in front of Felix spoke up, “If I had to guess, I’d say his coffee is sweeter than he is, and Felix takes his coffee black.” 

Claude, Allegra, and Allan. He’d met this trio on his first day in class, and they adopted him into their group on the spot, for whatever reason. Felix never actively hung out with them, but they _did_ seem to drag him around a lot.

“Oh! Did you guys hear about the explosion in the art room the other day?” Claude said suddenly, getting that look in his chestnut brown eyes when he’s about to relay one of his pranks.

“Explosion?” Allan asked, shifting his green cap with interest and turning in his seat to face Claude. The brunette mostly talked with his hands, so you normally needed to see him when he told stories.

A devilish grin spread across Claude’s lips, and he shifted in his seat to prepare himself for the story.

“So! Alex wanted to make some glow-in-the-dark paint for this new graffiti thing. So she snuck in some chemicals from the lab-” He hunched over, mockingly shifting his eyes from left to right to look shady- “and started mixing them with the paint.” He rotated his finger in the air.

“Can’t you buy that at an art store?” Allegra cut in, absently trailing her fingers along her platinum blonde braid that hung over her left shoulder as she listened. 

Claude waved his hand. “Nah, she says it’s too expensive. Anyway, She’s mixing em’ together, and Nathaniel’s all like, ‘Isn’t that dangerous?’, and she’s all, ‘don’t be a wuss, Nath, it’s fine.’ So she keeps going. Now, I’m already taking cover in the back, cause I know it’s not gonna end well.” 

He holds up his hands as if he’s holding onto a canvas to hide behind it. “The stuff starts glowing- you could see it from there -and she’s like, ‘See, I told you it was fine’, but before she could even finish the sentence the _entire_ thing just _erupts_ and sprays paint _everywhere_!” 

Claude flails his arms around for emphasis of the explosion. 

“And they-” He pauses to laugh, trying to stifle it so he can continue. “And they just- they’re just standing there, looking down at the empty can of paint. Alex and Nathaniel are-” 

He bursts out laughing, holding his hand over his mouth. Allegra and Allan start chuckling from how contagious the laughter is. 

“They are _covered_ in paint. Head to toe. I’m dying. Marc looks like he’s trying not to laugh and like he’s kind of disappointed cause it sprayed him too. And Nathaniel-” Claude snorts, shoulders shaking and fist banging on the desk from laughing so hard. 

“He just- he just _looks_ at Alex. And he says- he says, ‘ _yeah. You sure told me_.’” 

All three of them lose it. Even Felix is having trouble holding back a laugh. It was a good thing their class started at a different time today, else they all would have had detention.

“I didn’t know this school had an art room.” Felix commented, somehow being heard over the madness. Admittedly, he should have taken more initiative to tour the school grounds.

“Wait, really?” Allan was the first to speak, his chocolate brown eyes widening in surprise. 

Felix shook his head, and Claude dramatically gasped in disbelief.

“Oh, _heck_ no. As soon as school is over, you’re coming to the art room with me.” The brunette declared firmly.

The next thing he knew, Claude was eagerly leading Felix through the school halls. 

True to his word, He’d grabbed Felix and rushed out of the classroom as soon as class was over. Even Allegra and Allan weren’t able to follow them, though Felix assumed they’d catch up later.

The brunette stopped in front of a muddy brown door, covered in flecks of paint with a tilted sign that read “Art Room”. He kicked open the door- not hard, but enough to create a dramatic entrance. From the looks the students inside gave him, Felix assumed Claude did that often. 

“Welcome to the Art Club!” Claude announced, gesturing around the room.

There were various projects around the room, such as unfinished paintings, scraps of cloth, papers, books, extra materials, etc. Paint flecks littered everything in the room, creating a lingering scent of the settled pigment. It was probably the result of the explosion that Claude mentioned earlier.

Claude waltzed inside as if he owned the place. “And now, to introduce the crew!” 

He pointed to a short girl with pink pigtails and black and green attire. “This is Alex! Her specialty is graffiti.”

Alex gave a half salute with two fingers as a greeting before going back to her project of Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

“That’s Nathaniel. He draws comics.” Claude continued, pointing to a boy who’s red hair fell over his eyes.

Nathaniel timidly glanced up from the sketchbook he was hunched over, muttering a quick “Hello”.

“Next up, We have~ Marc! The man behind the dialogues of Nath’s comics!” The brunette introduced, flamboyantly bowing towards a black haired boy currently hiding in his red hoodie.

“And last, but _certainly_ not least, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” 

Felix perked up, eyes darting to the corner Claude was gesturing towards. 

Marinette rolled her eyes, a playful smile on her lips as she set her sketchbook aside. 

“Hey guys! You’re joining the art room?” She asked, the excitement in her tone surprising him.

“I’m.. not sure. Claude was just showing me around.”

“Wait, wait.” Claude interrupted, brows furrowed in confusion. “You two _know_ each other?” 

“We’ve run into each other a few times.” Felix smirked at Marinette, causing her to giggle towards the inside joke. The delicate pink spreading across her cheeks gave him an odd sense of satisfaction.

Claude only stared, dumbfounded. Then he pulled a pout. “Hey, what gives? You don’t smile like that for us! In fact, you don’t smile at all!” 

Felix’s smile immediately fell, and he rolled his eyes, attempting to ignore Marinette’s snort. 

“Is that all? I’m leaving otherwise.” 

“Oh wait! You haven’t seen my stuff yet!” Claude said hurriedly and ran to another corner of the room covered in various canvases. 

“And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for!” He began, holding an imaginary microphone to his mouth. 

Marinette smiled fondly and sat down in a chair, pretending to be the audience. Felix noticed the rest of the club members were doing the same. 

Claude made a small drum roll with his hands, and the others joined in shortly. Once he was confident they would keep the drum roll going, he stepped back towards one of the canvases.

“Ta-da!” He spun around the easel, a bright grin on his lips. A black stick figure was painted onto the white canvas, along with a yellow house with a red roof and a green tree. It almost looked like.. It was finger painted by a toddler.

Nevertheless, Marinette and the others laughed and cheered and clapped for him. Felix couldn’t help the feeling of.. relief. The painting was obviously less than impressive, but they gave him encouragement and praise anyway. It was refreshing. The thought of getting complimented whether your work was good or bad seemed extremely contradictory to the life style he’d grown up in.

“So what do you say, Felix, you wanna paint with me?” Claude asked, bringing him from his thoughts.

Felix hummed, looking around the room again. So full of life. Creativity. Of acceptance. 

“Not today.” Nathalie and Gorilla were already waiting for him. “But perhaps tomorrow.” 

Marinette was known to have a great taste for things. if she enjoyed it here, he might as well give it a shot. 

~~~~~~

Felix speed walked into the mansion, pushing Adrien in front of him. 

“What’s up, Fe? Why are we rushing?” His brother asked as they neared the steps.

Felix looked over his shoulder at the doors he purposely left wide open. 

“No time to explain.” He gave Adrien a final shove towards the stairs. “Go to your room. I’ll be up there in a minute.” 

Adrien didn’t have any time to question. Felix spun on his heel and walked briskly into their father’s office. It took Nathalie and gorilla around five to ten minutes to park the car. That’s all the time he had right now to investigate the room.

Swiftly slipping into the office, Felix went straight for the hole he saw four days ago. It was closed up now, but the outline was still visible. 

He knelt down and picked at the sides of the hole, hoping to force it open somehow. When that didn’t work, He searched the room for a stray switch. Under the desk, in the drawers, behind the curtains. Nothing. So he checked the computer for certain commands- the security system was linked to it, meaning it had access to all the openings in the house.

Still nothing.

Felix huffed, closing the tabs on the computer and turning to face his Mother’s abstract portrait. She looked so.. Happy. And warm. The exact opposite of their family as of late.

He moved towards the painting, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he ran his hand over the work of art. What would life be like if Father went missing instead? Not that he’d really want either of them to leave, but if he had a choice.. Felix was forced to believe that Emilie’s presence would be far more welcoming than Gabriel’s. What if neither of them left? Would they be a happy family? Just imagining-

Felix paused. He ran his hand over the painting again and knitted his eyebrows together. Are their supposed to be bumps in this painting? 

Again, he ran his hand over the art piece. Yes, there were most certainly bumps- No, no, not just bumps.. Notches?

The door swung open, and Felix yanked his hand from the painting.

“Felix, you’re not supposed to be in here.” Nathalie said sharply from the doorway. Despite her posture being firm, He could see the way her fingers nervously trailed up and down her clipboard, or the way her feet shifted just a bit too much. 

He met her eyes, composed, if not a bit panicked, though that could be one’s own imagination.

“Right. I was just looking for something.” He replied vaguely. 

Neither broke eye contact as he left the room. 

~~~~~~

Nathalie held her breath as Felix walked past her. Stay calm. No need to panic. Felix was only studying his mother’s painting, that’s all. No way he was trying to find the secret button to unlock everything she and Gabriel worked for. No. not at all. He was just a boy. He isn’t smart enough to figure them out without any completely obvious clues. Everything had been hidden quite well. They were fine.

These thoughts didn’t stop her from pacing as soon as she heard the door close. She needed to talk to Gabriel, but would he see her? She’s not supposed to interrupt him at these times..

Nathalie drew in a breath to calm herself. Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

She stepped in the middle of the circle and pushed in the two buttons on Emilie’s painting. The platform beneath her clicked, before slowly descending into the floor and bringing her with it. The first few minutes were met with darkness, concrete on all sides. It passed a door to Gabriel’s secret lair where akumatized people. Then, the concrete merged into glass, revealing a large, abandoned park. 

When the miniature elevator stopped, Nathalie started down the broad, metal pathway. Gabriel stood at the end of it, quietly watching the coffin of Emilie Agreste. 

“I’m sorry to bother you, sir, but I have concerns.”

Gabriel didn’t respond at first. He didn’t turn to face her.

Then, “About?” 

Nathalie pushed down her anxieties and continued, “Felix is getting suspicious. He’s started poking around your office, and he won’t listen to me. I think- well -I think it might be best if you talked to him.”

Her employer nodded absently, and she almost wondered if he even heard her. 

“So Felix is ‘getting close’?” He finally asked.

She nodded. “Yes sir.”

Gabriel hummed. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”

Nathalie’s eyes widened. “But sir-”

“Felix is the next in line for the company. He will be taking over one day. If I can’t trust him with things like this, then his role as my heir would be concerning.”

“Besides,” He murmured, lightly touching the glass of the coffin, “We need all the help we can get.” 

Nathalie resisted the urge to wretch. Help? From _Felix_? Absolutely not! They didn’t need help from a _child_. 

“Of course sir.” She nearly growled, gripping her clipboard a bit too tight.

You know what? Fine. _let_ that selfish, egotistical brat work with them. Then Gabriel will finally realize how _incapable_ his son really is.

~~~~~~

Felix rolled onto his side, catching the time on the alarm clock. 2am. Everyone should be asleep by now. Perfect.

He looked over at Adrien, sleeping soundly next to him in their shared bed. Carefully, Felix pulled off his side of the blankets. If his plan was going to work, he needs to keep Adrien asleep. Thankfully, that kid was a heavy sleeper. 

Once safely off the bed, Felix sneaked down the corridor, towards the stairs.

From what he could tell, the office was empty, no one guarding the door or residing inside. Felix flipped on the lights, looking around again just to be sure no one was watching him. 

His breath caught in his throat when he found the notches on the painting again. What was he going to find? Would he even find anything?

He pushed the buttons.

A familiar click echoed in the room.

Felix nearly fell backwards when the circle he was standing on started to descend. It took him lower into the ground, surrounding him in concrete. Where was it taking him? How long had this secret entrance been here without him knowing? On that note, why would they keep it a secret?

He jumped through the first door he saw.

Butterflies, pure white as freshly fallen snow, illuminated a huge, dome-shaped room. There were _millions_ of them. Why?

A butterfly landed on his shirt, and Felix narrowed his eyes.

_Wait._

His heart stopped in his chest as he studied the creature. These butterflies had appeared on the television just a few days ago. 

The same butterflies Hawkmoth had talked through.

Felix’s blood ran cold. 

No _wonder_ the voice was so familiar! His Father practically raised him through a screen! (If you can call that “raising”)

The butterflies, the voice, the secret door. It _had_ to be him.

But why?

“I see you’ve passed the test.” 

Felix whipped around, only to come face to face with Gabriel himself. 

“You!” He spoke without thinking for once. “This is all you! _You’re_ Hawkmoth! Why would-” 

Felix paused, Gabriel’s comment finally catching up with him.

“What test?” 

His father smiled- a bit unnerving since he normally doesn’t do such things.

“Follow me.” 

Anticipation formed in the pit of stomach. He just found out his Father was a mass super villain. A super villain who wanted him to follow him down a strange, secret elevator. 

Now, _why_ would that be a _bad idea_?

Felix pushed away the obvious warning signs and did as he was told. He needed answers. If this was the only way to get them, so be it.

The two stepped onto the circular platform- a tad “comfy” considering it was only made for one person -and started downward. 

Anxiety crawled up Felix’s chest when the concrete merged into glass. Another room, this time a large basement filled with an assortment of metals and plants. 

Gabriel was the first to step off the platform, footsteps echoing through the secret garden.

 _Since when did we have a basement?_ He thought to himself, following his father down the broad, metal walkway. What else didn’t he know? How much was Gabriel keeping from him? From _them_? What would Adrien think of all of this?

“It’s true that I’m Hawkmoth.” Gabriel spoke up, regaining Felix’s attention. “But, despite what Paris believes, I’m not after power. It’s such a trivial thing, can be gone in an instant. No, I have a mission. A purpose.”

“And what ‘mission’ would compel you to terrorize innocent people.” Felix scoffed. It was out of turn, but he was tired. And frustrating. The boy simply didn’t have time for their usual game of “perfect picture child”.

Gabriel spared him a glance, one softer than Felix expected.

“There’s someone I need to save.” 

Before Felix could question the comment, the man stepped aside, revealing a glass coffin.

Felix blinked, not believing his own eyes. It couldn’t be..

“Mom?” 

Emelie Agreste was lying peacefully in the coffin, eyes closed, mouth smiling, and a delicate bouquet of flowers resting in her hands.

He choked out a gasp, reaching out a shaking hand to touch the glass. “How is- why is she- she’s here? What- what happened? Why?” 

Gabriel sighed, staring down at his wife with a silent longing. It was still weird seeing him show any sort of emotion.

“She developed an illness, around two years ago. I did everything I could, took her to doctors, tried different concoctions of medicines, but in the end, she fell into a coma. I put her here, where she would be safe until I cure the disease.”

“How?” Felix found himself asking. He was becoming more invested in this than he should be. It was an illness, most likely terminal, and if it hadn’t been cured then, it’s not possible to cure it now. 

..right?

“The miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir.” A certain excitement laced the man’s tone. “When brought together, they can grant one wish. Anything you desire. If I can just get those jewels..” He trailed off, letting Felix fill in the blanks. 

The blonde tapped his fingers on the glass. It was definitely a mission, but was it worth it?

He looked down at his mother’s soft features. He remembered her sweet words and warm hugs, the way she tucked them in at night and played hide and seek.

And what wouldn’t a boy do for his mother?

“How can I help?” 


	3. Chapter 3

Felix stared up at the night sky. A crescent moon painted the streets in silver hues, creating a euphoric atmosphere in the city.

After He agreed to help his Father, they’d gone back up to Gabriel’s office, where he was shown what a miraculous was. 

_“This was your mother’s.”_ He’d said, handing Felix a peacock brooch. _“I’m sure she’d want you to have it.”_

To say Felix was surprised when a blue orb emerged from the jewel was an understatement. 

_“Go.”_ His father had instructed once the orb introduced itself as Duusu. _“Try out your new powers. See what you think.”_

His gaze shifted from the moon to his feet as he jumped across another rooftop. The extra strength from the suit propelled him forward, and he made a soft landing. Though the reason he obtained the miraculous was a bit overwhelming, He found the feeling of magic flowing through your veins quite addicting.

Felix continued running, noting the additional stamina he now possessed. 

_I think I’m starting to get the hang of this._ He thought with a smirk, his shoulders relaxing with each new leap. 

Then his foot caught on the edge of a rooftop.

His moment sent him tumbling onto the next roof. He managed to turn onto his back while skidding across the tiles- somehow even _that_ was quiet -and grabbed the air for an obstacle to stop his fall. 

His hand landed on the frame of a window, and he winced when his body jerked to a halt. 

“Spoke too soon..” He grunted, pulling himself up. His reflection stared back at him, though he was hardly noticeable in this costume. 

A dark blue waistcoat clung to his figure, large, sparkling feathers sprouting from the end of it. His navy blue pants- which matched his navy gloves -faded into Indigo, high-heel boots which were lined with a fuchsia color that shimmered in the night sky. Indigo feathers trailed along the collar of his waistcoat, tickling his neck slightly as they swayed with the wind. 

His hair, now dyed the same indigo color as his boots, was slicked back and pinned up with three small feathers that matched the end of his waist coat. A dark blue mask covered most of his face, stopping just above his eyebrows and dipping just below his nose. The mask was lined with the same pink color from his boots, making his fuchsia eyes pop. The finishing touch seemed to be his light purple skin, blending in perfectly with the rest of the colors of his suit. 

Over all, the outfit reminded him of a soft dream, something you’d expect night time to look like should it ever take form in a person. 

Now that he was firmly on his feet, Felix let go of the window, getting ready to start off again when something else caught his eye. 

A splotch of red in the reflection, one he knew wasn’t coming from him or the streetlights. 

Felix turned around to see the silhouette a person perched on a rooftop not too far away from him. Pictures and reports floated through his mind of the heroes of Paris, specifically a woman in red. If he remembered correctly, she had announced herself as “Ladybug”. 

His feathers shuffled behind him as he crept closer. Her back was turned to him, knees tucked against her chest and chin resting on her crossed forearms. Her pigtails brushed against her shoulders from the night air, but she didn’t pay it any mind, probably lost in thought.

He was so focused on her that he didn’t notice the slight dent in the roof. His foot slipped just enough to break one of the tiles, and before he could even wince at the mistake, she was on her feet and glaring at him.

“I-I’m not a threat!” He blurted out the first thing that came to mind, tensing when she reached for her weapon.

Ladybug hesitated, hand hovering above her yo-yo.

“You’re _not_ a threat?” She repeated, her bluebell eyes looking him over with suspicion. 

_Well, not yet._ He refrained from saying, instead holding his hands up and shaking his head. He did need her miraculous, but they both appeared to be having a rough night, since they’re out at _3am_. Surely that could wait until morning.

Ladybug let out a slight gasp, finally taking in his appearance. 

“You’re another hero.” She thought aloud, excitement lacing her tone.

Felix coughed, trying to hide his laugh of irony because.. _Not exactly_.

The red-clad heroine sat back down, half facing him and half facing the city. “When did you get your miraculous? I didn’t see you during Stoneheart a few days ago.” 

Felix awkwardly sat down next to her, tapping his fingers on the rooftop. “It’s more of a.. _recent_ development.” 

Ladybug giggled- an unusually pleasant sound - and nodded in understanding. 

A small silence passed between them. 

“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” She said softly, eyes trailing back to the glow of the city. “One day, you’re an ordinary citizen, just trying to make it through highschool-”

So she was in highschool? That’s an uncanny coincidence. He might have passed her in the halls a few times and didn’t even know it.

No, he’d never be that lucky.

“-the next, you’re deemed the ‘Protector of Paris’ and given amazing super powers.” The red ribbons tied in her hair swing back and forth as she shakes her head. “It’s just such a big responsibility. I’m not even sure I’m the right person for it.” 

Felix shrugged. “Being responsible for everyone’s safety is undoubtedly stressful, but I think you’ve already proved that you can do it. It’s only natural to be uncertain when it comes to big decisions. Just don’t let your insecurities hold you back.” 

Why he was giving her advice, he didn’t know. 

Ladybug pulled a small smile, shifting to face him again. “What about you, then? Aren’t you nervous about this whole Hero business?”

Oh, he’s definitely nervous, but not for the reasons she thought. 

“I guess you could say that.” 

She chuckled towards his response. “Well, I’m sure we’ll both do great.”

Felix forced himself not to cringe. “Yeah. Great.” 

To his relief, she stood up just then, unhooking her yo-yo from her hip. “I better get going. It’s late.” 

He stood as well, nodding in agreement. “That’d probably be best. Goodnight, Ladybug.” 

“Goodnight..” She trailed off, a blush of embarrassment coming to her cheeks. “Ah, I’m sorry. What’s your name?” 

Felix blinked. What _was_ his name? Goodness knows he couldn’t go by “Felix” in this get-up. 

His eyes swept over his outfit once more, considering the feathers and the brooch.

“..Le Paon.” He finally answered, pleased he was able to come up with it so quickly. (Even though it was extremely bland and simple)

Ladybug smiled, flinging out her yo-yo. “I look forward to working with you, Le Paon!” 

With a final wave, she pulled on the string and swung away.

Felix stared after her, feeling a tad guilty from seeing how sweet she is. It’s too bad he’s going to have to take her miraculous. 

~~~~~~

“Finally decide to get up this morning?” Felix remarked, sparing a glance towards Adrien as he poured his morning coffee into his thermos.

“Well, I figured your tactics would be more aggressive this time if I didn’t.” His brother replied light-heartedly, opening the fridge.

Felix hummed. “That’s true. I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t get to use my catapult idea.” 

Adrien snorted, causing Felix to smirk. 

He set down his thermos, moving for the silver platter on the counter instead. The chef made him chocolate truffles last night, upon Gabriel’s request. Felix despised sweets, but his kwami, Duusu, apparently did not. In fact, truffles were probably the only thing it would eat. 

The lid clinked against the counter top as he set it aside to slip the treats into his bag. He made sure the container was air tight so chocolate wouldn’t melt all over his stored items. Felix’s gaze flicked to Adrien, wondering why he hadn’t asked about the sweets yet.

Adrien rummaged through the fridge without a second thought, pulling out a wheel of Camembert cheese, according to the label. He then proceeded to put a slice of it in his shirt and the rest of the wheel in his bag.

Felix scrunched up his nose. “Why are you putting Camembert in your shirt? Do you want to smell like a dead bird?”

Adrien jumped, his hand gripping his bag like he was protecting it for some reason. 

“Oh- uh- well-” His eyes darted this way and that, most likely trying to find an excuse.

Then his gaze landed on the tray of chocolates. “W-why are you putting truffles in your bag? You hate sweets.” 

Felix scoffed towards the obvious dodge. 

“It’s a special brand.” He answered shortly and smoothly. _That’s_ how you deal with unwanted questions.

Adrien nodded awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“..Can I try some?”

“No.”

~~~~~~

Felix looked over the multitude of brushes splayed before him. Why did he agree to join the art class again?

“Now,” Claude began, grabbing one of the thicker paint brushes and holding it up with a grin, “Painting may _look_ easy, but there’s actually a lot more stuff going on than you think.” 

He dipped his brush in a small can of blue paint, carefully letting the excess paint drip off, back into the tin. “For example, you can’t put too much paint on your brush- it’s tempting, I know -or else your picture will look just like a blob of color. You won’t be able to add details.”

Felix simply nodded, though he wasn’t paying any attention to the instructions. His father had drilled into him the importance of art since he could recognize red from blue. Therefore, painting was a skill he’d already acquired over the years. 

“When you start painting,” Claude continued, either ignorant of or completely ignoring the fact that Felix didn’t care, “you’re going to gently stroke the canvas. Different strokes create different patterns and depths of color. This will come in handy when you’re trying to do waves or trees or something.” 

Felix plucked a few brushes from the tray, along with some colors, and began painting the first thing that came to mind. Greys, blue, yellows, reds- he used all sorts of colors while Claude yammered on about “merging the colors” and “balancing what’s too much or not enough”.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes of non-stop talking, Claude turned to him with a satisfied grin. “It’s not actually that hard, but it’s okay if you don’t do well at fir- WHAT.” 

The art club, who’d been quietly working on their own projects, looked up at Claude’s outburst. Curious, they crowded around the two to get a look at the art piece. 

In the span of time it took for Claude to finish his tutorial, Felix managed to paint the city of Paris shrouded in darkness with ladybug sitting on one of the rooftops, the only source of light. He’d just been thinking about their late night talk, and painted the moment he first saw her.

Everyone stood slack-jawed at the supposed masterpiece. Then they all started talking at once- questions, compliments, grumbles of envy from Claude. 

“That’s.. Really good.” Marinette muttered, her cheeks strangely a few shades darker than usual.

Felix felt his cheeks heat up as well, only confusing him further. “Ah. Thank you. My Father thought it very important to know how to work fine arts if I’m to inherit the Agreste company one day.” 

“And you were going to tell me this _when_?” Claude asked emphatically. “I just explained painting to you for twenty minutes for nothing!” 

Felix shrugged, setting down his paint brush. “It’s not like you were going to stop talking anyway.”

The other art members snickered, and Claude huffed, crossing his arms. 

“Well, since you’re so _skilled_ , Why don’t _you_ teach _me_?” The brunette proposed.

Marinette gasped, clapping her hands together in excitement. “Oh, Claude, that’s a great idea!” Her smile then fell as she whipped around to face Felix. “As long as that’s okay with you, of course. No pressure.”

Felix held back a smirk. This girl couldn’t be any more bipolar, but she was also considerate. For that, he was grateful.

“I do enjoy painting, so I don’t see why not.” 

A bright smile graced her lips again, and for some reason, a sense of satisfaction spread through his chest. 

“Great! What do we start with first? Backgrounds? Figures? Layers?” Claude asked, already prepping his paint brush.

The other artists shuffled around the room to gather their own paint brushes and canvases. Felix got a blank canvas of his own, pushing down his nerves as he set it up. While he _is_ skilled in the art of painting, he’s not certain that he’s skilled in the art of _teaching_.

“We’ll start with the background.” He began, brush pointed and voice steady. “What would you all like to paint?”

“An _explosion_!”

“Maybe a cafe?”

“I want to paint a dog!”

Felix sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “A _unanimous_ vote would be preferred.”

“What about Chat Noir?” Marinette suggested, ever so softly. “I mean, you painted Ladybug. So, it makes sense to paint her partner, now.. Right?”

Felix hummed, subtly wishing she’d have the confidence to speak louder. Aside from the soothing nuances of her voice, Marinette was extremely creative and intelligent. (one needn’t know her long to see that) It was simply a waste to hide such brilliance behind unreasonable insecurities. 

“Are we all in agreement then? We’re going to paint Chat Noir?”

The other students nodded.

“Good. Now, the background. You want to start with-”

A low rumbling swept through the classroom, causing Felix to pause. 

“What was that?” Nathaniel frowned.

Another rumble, this time larger. The easels around them started rattling. 

“I hope it’s not another akuma.” Claude said, holding his canvas to keep it from falling. 

What happened next felt all too fast. Another rumble shook the school, and cracks split the ceiling above them. 

“Take cover!” Felix managed to yell as it caved in. 

Everyone dove for a desk. Chunks of drywall fell in all directions. The wooden easels splintered into nothing. Dust flooded the room, practically suffocating the students inside.

“Is everyone alright?” Felix asked after a moment, pushing some loose drywall off of his leg and brushing off his clothes. Thankfully, he’d had enough time to slip under a small art table.

There were a few coughs and groans in response, but no screams of pain. Felix took that as a “yes”.

“And what do we have here?”

Felix felt every inch of him tense up.

A hallucination. He had to be hallucinating. Maybe a stray piece of drywall hit his head the wrong way, and he hadn’t noticed. There’s no way his Father could be _this_ inconsiderate.

Sure enough, a man in a construction uniform stood overhead, holding the chain of a large wrecking ball along with a malicious grin. 

“An art room, huh? What an open, creative, _constructive_ place.” 

Felix hunched his shoulders, immediately searching for his bag. Where did he leave it? Why didn’t he keep Duusu in his pocket instead?

The akuma started swinging his wrecking ball. “The exact things I want to destroy.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head, waiting for the blow. Then-

“Not so fast!” 

Another voice came onto the scene, and the akuma growled in frustration.

When he looked up again, Ladybug was there, tall and strong in the daylight. Felix watched as she drove the akuma back, nowhere near as fragile as she appeared the night before.

Guilt flooded his chest at the thought. They’d talked last night, hadn’t they? Now he had to face her again. As her enemy. How did he get roped into this?

The image of his comatose mother flitted through his mind.

Felix sighed, ripping himself from underneath the desk to find his bag. 

_This isn’t permanent._ He told himself. _Just get the jewelry to save Mother, and everything will be fine. You can apologize later._

After rummaging around for a few minutes, he finally found his bag caged underneath some drywall where his easel had been. He tugged it out the rest of the way, wincing when the strap snapped on one side. There was no time to mourn the loss, though, as Ladybug and the akuma could still be heard overhead.

Felix tucked the bag between his arm and side and darted out of the room before either party could notice. The bathroom sounded like a decent place to transform.

~~~~~~

Ladybug used her yo-yo to shield herself from the excess debri of The Constructor’s attacks. That’s what the akuma had called themselves, anyway. She managed to lead him away from the school, though escaping the classroom hadn’t been easy. Thank Ladybug’s Luck that she happened to be closest to the door when the ceiling collapsed. At this point, Marinette just hoped Felix and the others were alright.

“This akuma needs to _construct_ a better attitude. Don’t you think, My Lady?” Chat Noir quipped, landing next to her with a Cheshire grin.

“Oh, good, you’re here.” She replied with relief, ignoring his comment. “Now all that’s left is Le Paon.” 

“Who?”

“He’s another hero I met yesterday.” Ladybug explained, pushing Chat to the side to avoid Constructor’s wrecking ball.

“I thought we were the only heroes though!” Chat yelled over the deafening sound of the crumbling buildings around them.

“Stand still, why don’tcha!” The akuma roared, swinging his wrecking ball at them again.

Ladybug and Chat Noir separated, barely missing the wrecking ball that passed between them. They realized only too late that a civilian had wandered onto the scene of the battle, directly in the line of attack. 

A cry of panic escaped Ladybug as she threw herself forward to help the innocent bystander, but she was too slow. 

Thankfully, a certain night-themed hero wasn’t.

All she saw were the sparkling feathers, then the wrecking ball hit the ground and sent concrete flying into the air.

Ladybug forced herself to breath as they waited for the dust to clear. 

“You’re supposed to be getting the miraculous, not murdering the innocent, you idiot!” 

Her knees nearly buckled from relief when she heard Le Paon’s curt tone, and she let out an incredulous laugh when she saw him on the rooftop, holding the civilian safely in his arms.

“Wait, what?” Chat furrowed his eyebrows. “Did he just give the akuma an order?”

“Did he?” Honestly, she was too focused on their wellbeing to notice what he said. Either way, that couldn’t be right. Le Paon was on their side. 

Le Paon set the civilian down, and stepped back for a running start. Without hesitation, he leapt off the roof. The feathers at the end of his coat spread out like a fan, seeming to carry him through the air. 

Ladybug was so mesmerized by his grace that she didn’t realize he was coming too close. His heel connecting with her chest knocked her out of her trance. 

The air was ripped from her lungs as her back slammed into the rooftop.

“Why?” She choked out, still reeling from the shock. Weren’t they supposed to be a team? What was happening?

Through the blur of her tears, Le Paon winced. “Apologies. I’ll be quick.”

His fingers slipped around her left earring, and Ladybug finally pulled herself together enough to start thrashing underneath him.

Suddenly, Le Paon grunted, and the next thing she knew, Chat Noir was helping her sit up.

“Some hero.” The blonde bit off, glaring at Le Paon. 

A few feet away from them, Le Paon clutched his side, eyeing Chat’s staff with malice.

He then turned his glower to The Constructor. “What are you waiting for? An invitation? Get their miraculous!”

The Constructor scowled at him, but started swinging his wrecking ball again. 

Chat Noir scooped up Ladybug- to her surprise -and used his staff to hoist them onto another roof.

“I thought you said he was a hero!” Chat said, setting her down behind a chimney for cover.

“I..I thought he was.” Ladybug put a hand to her chest, blinking back the tears. They’d only known each other for a day, so why did his betrayal shatter her like this?

She shook her head. Now was not the time.

“Lucky Charm!”

Miraculous magic shimmered in the air, dropping a thin, wooden object into her hands.

“A..paintbrush?” Ladybug squinted, turning the item over in her hands.

Chat scrunched up his nose. “What are we supposed to do with that?”

Ladybug hummed, shifting her position to scan her surroundings.

Crumbling buildings.. Spilled art cans.. The Constructor’s wrecking ball.. Le Paon..

“I’ve got it!” She grinned, hopping up from her hiding place and throwing out her yo-yo. “Chat, get ready!”

Ladybug swung passed the paint cans and dipped her brush in the paint. 

“Hey, Constructor!” She called as she waved the paintbrush in the air. “This block looks like it could use a touch-up. What do you think?” 

The Constructor growled with fury, throwing out his wrecking ball. 

Ladybug dodged it and smoothly landed on the roof with them. 

Le Paon jumped for her. She slid underneath him, using the paintbrush to streak paint across his suit as she went.

The akuma whirled around, aiming for anything colorful, and ended up hitting Le Paon square in the chest.

“Now, Chaton!” Ladybug yelled with a smirk. Was it bad to say seeing the backstabber go flying felt good?

“Cataclysm!” 

Constructor’s wrecking ball, to her triumph, disintegrated into nothing before them. The purple akuma came flapping out, and Ladybug swiftly captured it.

“Bye, bye, little butterfly!” She waved.

Her hand moved to her earrings when she heard the familiar warning beep.

“That’s our queue.” Chat remarked, holding up his own beeping miraculous.

“Pound it!” They said together, bumping their fists.

_At least one thing worked out._

~~~~~~

Pain. Pain and agony filling his chest and his head and- Just a nagging throbbing _everywhere_ , really. 

Felix groaned, shifting on the pile of garbage bags he’d landed on. That was.. not how he expected that to go. Of course the heroes weren’t going to just hand over their miraculous on a silver platter, but they fought _hard_ , especially for a couple of teenagers.

Glowing ladybugs swarmed the city streets, restoring the destroyed buildings. The magic came to wrap around his body as well, and He felt the aching subside within seconds.

Felix sighed in relief and pushed himself to his feet.

“Well, isn’t that convenient?” He muttered, noting the paint streak had also washed off of his suit. It must be one of the many powers of Ladybug’s miraculous.

Felix grimaced at the reminder, a different kind of pain swelling in his chest. The look on her face when she found out he was on the other side cut him deeper than he thought it would. It’s not even like he’d known the heroine that long!

And yet, that didn’t lessen the guilt festering at the back of his mind as he ran back to the school. (detransformed, of course) Honestly, Felix was more than happy to drop all of this ludicrous nonsense in an instant, but they needed to get Emilie back _somehow_. Unless his mother suddenly woke up tomorrow morning, this was their only option. Hopefully, whoever was under the mask would understand.

~~~~~~

As soon as she landed in a secluded alleyway, Ladybug dropped her transformation and sank to the ground, hiding her head in her knees. 

“Ugh, I’m such an idiot! How could I have been so _stupid_!”

“You couldn’t have known.” Tikki insisted, brushing her holder’s hair.

“But I should have!” Marinette shot her hands into the air. “I’m _Ladybug_! I need to be more alert!”

She tried to convince herself that it didn’t matter, that she would take him down all the same- just like his apparent partner, Hawkmoth. But the underlying betrayal and hurt she felt was undeniable. Despite only talking to him once, it felt like Le Paon actually understood her. She had hoped She’d be able to have a partner to trust and confide in. Not that Chat Noir wasn’t trustworthy, he was just a bit too playful is all. It didn’t feel like he could be serious. Le Paon seemed to get it, though- the struggle, the pressure, the uncertainty.. Maybe he was being pushed into this too? That would explain why he saved that civilian earlier..

Marinette groaned, digging her fingers into her hair. No, of course he wasn’t being forced into this! Saving the civilian was just a ploy to catch her off guard, and last night was nothing more than a facade to get close to her. 

Le Paon was a villain, whether she liked it or not, and they would take him down just like the rest.


	4. Chapter 4

Felix didn’t bother hiding his scowl as he marched straight to his father’s office. Sitting in a room with nothing but the monotone voice of underpaid teachers blandly explaining things he’d mastered at the age of five gave him plenty of time to stew about the events of today’s akuma. 

Adrien, smartly, didn’t question his intentions, instead quietly shuffling for the stairs. 

Nathalie, foolishly, stood in front of the door, arching her brow.

“You’re father’s busy right now, Fe-”

“Can it, Sancoeur. I’m not in the mood.” He grit, pushing right past her and ripping the door open.

Gabriel stared down at his computer screen, unblinking, no doubt sketching another design that would look to be inspired from a trash bin. 

Felix curled his hands into fists. The man didn’t so much as glance his way! Did he even care about what happened?

“ _What_ was _that_!” He yelled. 

Gabriel looked at him then, a sharpness in his eyes that made Felix falter for only a moment.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” 

Felix rolled his eyes with a scoff. “Adrien’s out of range so drop it. You nearly killed at least half a dozen people today, _me_ included!”

Gabriel sighed- as if _he_ was the one being outrageous! “I can’t predict where the akumas rampage. If you’re so distressed about it, though, I’ll try to steer them clear of you next time.”

“Forget about the akuma getting to the school!” As annoying as that was. “We almost _killed_ people today!” 

As far as he knew, they probably _did_ kill somebody. “I thought this was supposed to be about the miraculous.”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “It is, but sacrifices must be made, Felix.”

Felix opened his mouth to argue, but Gabriel held up his hand to silence him.

“When we get the Ladybug miraculous, everything will be fixed. In the meantime, Ladybug has her ‘miraculous cure’,” A smirk- unsettling, at that -crossed his lips as he gestured to Felix’s chest, “As you’ve seen today.”

Felix tensed, his hand instinctively coming up to touch the previously healed injury from the fight. “How did you..” 

“I see what my akuma sees. I knew everything that happens during the battle.” Something in his tone sounded sinister to Felix. He couldn’t decide if the statement was a threat or simply new information.

“What about Adrien?” He asked next. His little brother might be a bit more naive, but he wasn’t stupid. They couldn’t keep this a secret from him forever. What happened if he found out first? What would he assume? What would he do? 

“He will know when the time is right.” Gabriel answered, turning back to his screen. “Now go finish your homework before your brother gets suspicious.”

Felix bit back a snarky response, spinning on his heel and leaving as told. He made sure to send Nathalie an overly cold glare on his way out, which she returned with an ever-so-faint smirk. Gosh, he couldn’t stand that woman, acting so high and mighty simply because she worked for Gabriel Agreste when in reality she was only a brainless- and infatuated, apparently -puppet who scrambled after his every word. Disgusting.

He opened his bedroom door, and a flash of black zipped by. Felix blinked, reaching up to rub his eyes. Did the lights just black out for a second? Or was he seeing things now? This better not be a miraculous effect.

“Oh, hey, Fe. Done with Father already?” Adrien asked, taking Felix from his thoughts. 

“I only had a few questions to ask him.” He replied, hanging up his bag and turned slightly, just enough for Adrien not to notice Duusu flying into his vest pocket.

“Huh. I thought you’d take longer than that. You looked pretty mad.” 

Felix shrugged, passing the room to lounge on the couch. 

He rolled his eyes when he caught a glimpse of Adrien’s computer screen. “You’re reading that tabloid?” 

Adrien swiveled around in his wheely-chair, clicking the “minus” button on the Ladyblog. “It’s not a tabloid, Felix. All information on the Ladyblog is fact checked and straight from the heroes.”

Felix scoffed, settling on the couch with his book. As if any reporter would ever be that genuine. People who went into that business were nothing more than talent-less idiots desperate for a scrap of fame. 

“Come on, you don’t want to know about Paris’ heroes?” 

“No.” He knew enough about them already, like the fact that Ladybug’s insecure despite being more than capable of her job, and that she probably hated his guts after what he did that morning.

Adrien sighed and turned back to his computer screen. “Well, I think they’re cool. Sucks that the Le Paon guy turned out to be a jerk.”

Felix sat up at that, nearly dropping his book on the floor. “What did you say?” 

“Oh, you’re interested now?” Adrien retorted, rolling back to show him the computer. 

An image of his alter ego clearly kicking Ladybug in the chest resided on the screen, and Felix winced. Adrien kept scrolling, revealing picture after picture of their fight. Who took these? How did he not notice a random citizen taking his photo?

The horrifying collection ended with a video of Alya Cessaire talking with none other than the citizen he saved from The Constructor’s wrecking ball.

**~Yeah, I _guess_ he saved me, but who’s to say he wasn’t the reason I was in danger in the first place?~**

_Note to self: Maybe we should just let the civilians fend for themselves._ Felix thought bitterly, though he knew they had a point. It’s hard to appreciate someone saving you when that someone is also the cause of your peril. 

“I heard he even tricked Ladybug into thinking he was a hero before trying to take her miraculous. How can someone be so cruel?” Adrien said, shaking his head.

“Well, neither of us were there.” Felix found himself saying. “Maybe we don’t have the whole story.”

Like their mother currently laying underneath their mansion in an incurable coma, and the possibility of her being saved if the two miraculous were brought together. 

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows. “Fe, he lured her into a false sense of trust for his own personal gain. Only a villain would do something like that.” 

_You don’t have to remind me._ He mentally groaned. The way Adrien talked made Le Paon sound like some sort of monster. Maybe he was.

“I suppose.”

“Hey, what’s up with you today?” Adrien frowned. “You’re normally the ‘logical’ one here.” 

Felix pulled a small smile. “I’ve been preoccupied is all, adjusting to school life and all of that.”

Adrien hummed. “I guess that makes sense. Anyway, since you’re in a talking mood, what do you think about Chat Noir? He’s pretty awesome isn’t he?” 

Felix tisked, rubbing his side. He remembered the blonde’s staff more than the hero himself. “A good fighter, I’ll give him that, but he’s also reckless. He doesn’t think things through when he attacks.”

Adrien sputtered, obviously trying to find an argument for the statement. 

“I- you -I thought you said you didn’t pay attention to the heroes.” He finally replied with crossed arms. Why did he look so offended?

“I don’t. It’s just an observation.” Felix stated, picking up his book to resume reading. 

“Whatever.” Adrien grumbled, turning back to the computer.

Felix rose a brow, but didn’t bother questioning the shift in mood. Adrien was the one that asked about his opinion. If he didn’t like it, then that was _his_ problem. 

~~~~~~

“Did you guys see the pictures?” Claude asked eagerly, throwing his bag on the desk.

Felix sighed and closed his book. There was no point in trying to read when Claude started one of his stories. 

“The pictures on the Ladyblog?” Allan guessed. 

“Yeah! Credit to the awesome cameraman, of course.” The brunette grinned, straightening with pride.

“Claude, are you sure you should be that close to the fight? Someone almost got crushed yesterday.” Allegra frowned as she sat down next to Allan.

Claude scoffed and waved his hand. “That’s what makes it interesting. Besides, I can’t let Alya down. Who else could get those awesome camera angles?”

“Well, there’s-”

“No one. That’s who.” Claude interrupted, placing his hands on his hips.

Felix rolled his eyes. “Was there a point to this conversation?” 

“Oh, yeah. Did you hear about Le Paon yesterday? What a jerk!”

Felix resisted the urge to face palm. He should have known better than to ask.

“I watched the video, but I didn’t understand what happened. They say the blue guy from yesterday was a villain?” Allan asked. 

“ _Le Paon_ and yes, he’s a villain working with Hawkmoth. Rumor has it that Ladybug thought he was a hero at first. Can you believe that? Tricking someone into believing you’re good just to _literally_ kick them down? Even _Felix_ isn’t that heartless!” Claude huffed.

Thank goodness the others were too invested in Claude to see Felix twitch. He couldn’t get a break could he? I mean, he deserved every word, but that didn’t make it any less aggravating. Was _everyone_ going to remind him of his rash decisions this week? 

Allegra hummed, setting her chin on the back of her hand with an amused smile. “Someone more heartless than Felix? That _is_ interesting. Maybe you should make a blog about Le Paon instead.” 

“As if. A blog about Le Paon would never be popular.” Claude replied matter-of-factly.

Allegra narrowed her eyes. “And how would you know?”

“Um, do you see any Le Paon blogs? Have you heard of any?” Claude continued before she could answer. “No. No, you haven’t. Case in point.” 

“Maybe no one’s thought of it yet?” Allan spoke up.

Claude threw him a light-hearted glare. “Don’t side with her.” 

Felix, for once, nodded in agreement. Alya and Claude were bad enough without Allegra and whoever she’d drag along on the scene. It was just more people to save and keep out of trouble, more distractions to keep him from Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“You know what, Claude? You’re on. I accept your challenge.” Allegra decided.

“What?” Felix and Claude asked in unison. Challenge? What challenge? Nobody initiated a challenge!

“I’m gonna make a blog for Le Paon, and you’re gonna sit there and watch the views skyrocket.” She stated, a determined gleam coming to her eyes.

Felix sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. How did he not see this coming? It’s only his luck that these three would inconvenience him in both his civilian and his miraculous life.

“That takes a lot of work, you know. You have to set up the account, find someone for the footage, work out names and contacts. Not to mention listing all of the sources..” He listed off, hoping to dissuade her.

Unfortunately, his words only fanned the flames. 

“Oh, so you’re doubting me too?” She asked, raising a brow.

“I simply-”

“No, I understand.” Allegra cut him off. “You guys don’t think I can make Le Paon a hit because he had a bad first impression.”

“I didn’t say that.” Allan said, somewhat sheepishly.

The blonde smiled, leaning forward to pat him on the head. “I know you didn’t. You’re safe.” 

Allan blew out a sigh of relief and went back to his music. 

“Anyway, I’ll be waiting for an apology when my blog drives _Claude’s_ into the ground.” 

Felix rolled his eyes. So this was really happening. Wonderful. Perhaps Father could persuade some of the akumas to give the reporters a free pass? 

Claude scoffed. “Oh- oh, I see how it is. I was just gonna let you do whatever, but fine. May the best blogger _win_.” 

Allegra stood, narrowing her eyes with determination. “Don’t worry. _I will_.”

~~~~~~

Marinette stared down at the screen, a frown tugging at the corner of her lips. What’s the nicest way to say “No” to someone?

“I don’t know, Allegra..”

“Come on, Nette, _please_.” The blonde pleaded. “Alya has a cameraman for her blog, and I need to out-do her.”

“Why me?” Seriously, _why_ did it have to be her? Why not Allan? Or Felix? Or anyone else who _didn’t_ have a miraculous and a crucial responsibility to protect Paris.

“You’re an artist, which means you have an eye for the best angles and such.” Allegra explained.

“I’m not _that_ kind of artist.” Marinette sighed. “What about Nathaniel?”

You know, someone who actually _knows_ a thing or two about angles?

“He’s too scared to run into the action with me. You’re the only one I’ve seen run _towards_ an akuma fight aside from Alya and Claude!” 

Marinette grimaced under Allegra’s puppy-like gaze. There was a _reason_ she ran into those fights! A very _important_ reason that couldn’t be pushed to the side because of something Claude said earlier!

Her eyes flicked to the phone again, looking over the blue and purple-themed blog that had “Birds of a Feather” at the top. Honestly, why would Allegra even _want_ to make a blog about Le Paon? He’s nothing but a manipulative liar who only cares about himself. 

Allegra waited patiently for her reply, though Marinette knew she wasn’t going to back down if her answer was “no”. If anything, she’d either continue to bug her or find _another_ cameraman to get herself killed with.

“I’ll think about it.” She finally relented, ignoring the thump of her purse against her leg. At the very least, she might be able to steer Allegra out of the akuma’s grasp.

Allegra grinned and threw her arms around Marinette. “Thanks a ton! You won’t regret it, promise!” 

Marinette chuckled, hugging Allegra back. Tikki’s lecture was already playing through her mind. “You shouldn’t put yourself in complicated situations like this. You’re responsibility as Ladybug always needs to come first. At worst, you lied to your friend about being able to make time for her.”

In her defense, it’s not like she could just _decline_. Everyone knows that when Allegra’s mind is set, there’s no changing it. If she wanted Marinette to be her camerawoman, then that’s what was going to happen, whether it took Allegra constantly asking or “conveniently” finding her during akuma fights and throwing her the phone. That could jeopardize her secret identity. So, when you think about it, she _had_ to help Allegra.

At least, that’s what Marinette told herself during the walk home. 

“Marinette, You forgot to do the dishes last night.” Her mother commented as she opened the front door to the bakery.

Marinette winced. “Ah, sorry Maman. I’ll go do them now.”

Sabine gave her a fond smile and nodded. “There’s a bowl of fruit on the dining room table to snack on while you work on your homework afterwards.”

Marinette kissed her on the cheek with a “thanks!” and headed upstairs. She’d start on the dishes as soon as she let Tikki out of her bag in her room. 

Pushing open her trap door, Marinette gently set her bag to the side and climbed the ladder. Tikki flew out of the unzipped top, fixing her with a displeased look as she pulled out her laptop.

“Marinette, you know better than to make promises you can’t keep.” The small, god-like being began, exactly as she had predicted.

“I know, I know, but what was I supposed to do? She wasn’t going to stop asking, and at least this way, I can keep an eye on her.” Marinette said, repeating the argument she’d prepared earlier.

Tikki sighed, zipping over to the plate of cookies on her desk. “But how are you going to manage recording the akumas and fighting them?”

Marinette bit her lip. “I.. I’m sure I’ll figure something out.”

She opened her laptop and searched for Allegra’s blog again. Because of her internal freak out during the blonde’s request, she hadn’t been able to read the few posts Allegra made. It was a hope that she would have something useful on the mysterious villain.

 _How did she have time to make this?_ Marinette thought as she scrolled through the web page. Didn’t she say the argument took place that morning? “Birds of a Feather” already had a theme, introduction, and several pictures- albeit a bit blurry -from the news reports. Unfortunately, the blog didn’t have any new information for her.

“Marinette, you should do the dishes before you forget.” Tikki advised, munching on her second cookie.

Marinette, knowing she was right, sighed and stood up, leaving the computer on. She could always read through the blog later. Dishes shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes, anyway.

She walked back downstairs and turned on the faucet. While the water filled the sink, the dirty dishes were piled on the counter, and a clean space was made for the freshly washed ones. The purple dishrag twisted easily in her hands, letting the soap bubbles run over her fingers. 

Bells chimed faintly below, and Marinette pictured the customer that might be walking in. Maybe a young woman looking for sweets for her daughter’s bake sale. Or perhaps an esteemed gentlemen in need of a caterer to really sell his newest ideas at a business meeting. It might even be a little kid who’d wandered into the store. 

“I’d like two batches of truffles, please.” 

Marinette stopped short when a familiar voice echoed softly through the vents. 

“Of course! Anything else?” Her mother asked politely.

“No, that’ll be all, thank you.” 

Her dish slipped back into the sink. Was that.. Felix? That couldn’t be him, right? She couldn’t sworn Adrien mentioned his distaste for sweets the other day. 

Marinette swiftly washed and dried her soapy hands. Maman shouldn’t mind a small interruption as long as she finished the dishes at some point.

~~~~~~

Felix grumbled under his breath as he felt the car roll to a stop in front of the bakery. He thought that platter of truffles would last Duusu about a week, but she ate them all in one night! How could something so small eat so much? 

A soft bell chime greeted him as he pushed open the glass door, and the smell of freshly baked croissants prompted him to take a deep breath. 

“Can I help you?” 

A small, Asian woman stood at the cash register, offering him a smile that seemed vaguely familiar. 

“I’d like two batches of truffles, please.” He requested.

She nodded, her short, raven hair bouncing with the notion. It reminded him of two pairs of pigtails, one from a spotted heroine and one from a scatter-brained classmate.

“Of course! Anything else?” 

“No, that’ll be all, thank you.” 

The woman took his credit card for the payment and gave him the receipt. She then crossed the shop to a certain glass case and put his truffles in a bag.

“Felix?” 

Felix spun around, surprised to find bluebell eyes staring at him.

_Speaking of scatterbrained classmates._

“Marinette? What are you doing here?” 

“It’s.. uhm.. It’s my parents bakery.” She replied, gesturing to the white words ingrained in the glass of the Cashier’s counter.

_D-C Boulangerie Patisserie_

D-C. 

Dupain-Cheng.

Felix face palmed. “Ah. Of course.”

Marinette giggled and closed the gap between them, choosing to lean on the counter as she asked, “What brings you here? I thought you didn’t like sweets.”

Felix ran a hand through his hair, mind suddenly blank. Why did he come here again?

A small shift in his pocket reminded him, but he couldn’t tell her about that little secret.

“Adrien likes sweets, and the personal chef took the day off for some family emergency.” A half truth. Both statements were accurate, though neither were the reason for his visit.

“Gotcha. Hope everything’s alright with the chef’s family.” 

He nodded, hiding his surprise by glancing at her mother again. (The relationship between the two explained the similar hair and smile.) To be honest, Felix hadn’t thought much about the chef’s situation. He just knew that they were gone, and it was inconvenient. 

Mrs. Dupain-Cheng picked that moment to approach them, bag in hand.

“You two know each other?” She inquired, an odd sparkle coming to her almond eyes.

“Maman, this is Felix. He just started attending our school last week. Felix, this is Sabine, my mom.” Marinette introduced, gesturing between them as she spoke. 

Felix extended his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.”

Sabine scoffed, taking his hand with both of hers. “Oh no, dear, call me ‘Sabine’. There’s no need to be so formal.”

He returned her soft smile and nodded. It was amazing, honestly. He’d thought Marinette was the only one who could be so warm and inviting, but this entire family screamed “welcome home”. Then again, he supposed she had to learn it somewhere.

“Oh! Marinette, why don’t you show him upstairs? I’m sure he’d love a tour.”

Felix tensed. A tour? Of what? 

“Uh.. sure, but does Felix have time for that?” Marinette asked, sparing him a glance.

The concern was reasonable. Adrien’s schedules were usually packed with lessons and photo shoots and other things Father assumed he needed. Felix, however, had the convenience of being on the business end of the company, meaning he didn’t have to model for their products. It gave him far more free time.

“My schedule is clear for the time being. What are we touring?” 

Duusu could wait for his truffles a little longer. Right now he wanted to indulge on the opportunity to see what exactly made the Dupain-Cheng household so open and relaxing.

Marinette perked up. “Just the house. I mean, you can see the big kitchen too, if you want.”

“I think I’ll save it for later.” He replied, a smirk crossing his lips.

She put a hand to her mouth as she chuckled and spun on her heel. “It’s right up the stairs.”

He followed her up the blue staircase, sliding his hand along the banner as he went. The layout reminded him of an apartment building, with the cracked, wooden floors and old carpet rolled out in the hallway.

Marinette stopped in front of a lone door and easily pushed it open. Felix walked in after her, stepping into another small hallway that led to a decent sized kitchen and family room. 

“This is our place. It’s sort of small, but I like to think of it as ‘cozy’.” Marinette said, stopping at the stairs just inside the house. 

Felix hummed, taking in the environment. A cream colored couch resided on the far left side of the room, with a tv sitting across from it and a small, white coffee table in between. Their kitchen was to the right, mostly counters with a few bar stools to create a useful table when necessary. The many windows shed light on it all, making him wonder how dark it must be at night. 

Next, she brought him up the other set of stairs to a trapdoor. A bit unusual, but Marinette didn’t seem to bat an eye as she threw it open and climbed inside.

The first minutes in the room were spent letting his eyes adjust. If he thought the living room below was bright, then this attic had to be the sun itself. Not to mention everything and anything was all one color: pink. 

“And _this_ is my room.” Marinette announced, walking over to the desk that was tucked between a ladder and the crawl space above.

 _I can’t imagine it looking any different._ Felix thought to himself. Her desk was cluttered with papers and pictures, some of her family, some of her friends, none of him. (Why that bothered Felix, he didn’t know.) Her vanity had a few trinkets on it- a semi-circle shaped box with a notebook inside, a brush, and a round bottle of perfume. A large chaise sat to the right of the room, next to a black, full-length mirror. Lastly, there was a mannequin that stood next to the mirror, wearing an interesting choice of clothing.

“Did you make this?” He found himself asking, feeling the fabric of the pink, fluffed out dress. It’s a design he’d seen yet, and Felix prided himself in memorizing the popular fashions around Paris, Agreste brand included, of course.

“That?” Marinette replied, coming to stand next to him. “It’s just something I’ve been playing with, but yeah, I made it.”

 _Playing with_? The dress was obviously hand-sewn, but in a masterful, refined way. She’d practiced- no, _perfected_ -this craft. The ruffles that started from the waist down were swept over each other like rose petals, soft and delicate. Two butterflies were sewn into the side, almost like ribbons. Each pattern was carefully aligned, spreading black flowers across the pink fabric. Not a single stitch looked to be out of place. This wasn’t something she was “playing with”. _This_ was-

“Amazing.” He muttered. “This is incredible work, Marinette.”

A blush bloomed across her cheeks. “What? No, no- I mean, it’s not even finished yet.”

“Nonsense. This dress is better than most of the atrocities people try to present to my Father.” He insisted.

Her blush deepened, and Felix couldn’t help smiling at it. 

“Do you have any more of these?”

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. “More of the dress?”

“More of your designs.” He elaborated, straightening to look at her desk full of papers. “I’m sure Father would love to see them.” 

“Your- the Agreste?- I mean, _Monsieur_ Agreste? He’s gonna- _my_ designs?” She sputtered, putting her arms around her face in an odd, box-like position. 

Felix laughed. “If you don’t mind.”

Marinette whimpered- he hoped out of nervousness. It wouldn’t be a good first impression in her home to make her uncomfortable.

“No- uh- It’s just.. What if he- he doesn’t.. Like it?” She asked, fiddling with her pigtails.

“Impossible.” He scoffed. “This dress alone proves how much raw talent you have, and it’s not even finished. If my Father doesn’t see that, then he might as well close his business right now.” 

Felix put a hand on her shoulder. “Marinette, You are unbelievably brilliant. Don’t cut yourself short.”

A bashful smile spread across her lips, but she nodded. “O-Okay. Let me find some that are finished though!”

His hand slipped off her shoulder as she scrambled off to her closet. He followed, ignoring the strange feeling of disappointment at the loss of touch. 

Clothes were thrown this way and that as she searched through the outfits, deciding which one to give him. A small pile had grown in the corner of the room by the time she finally found a suitable arrangement. Two, to be exact. 

“These are the ones I like best. I have the original sketches for them in a drawer, if you want those too.” She offered, handing him the outfits.

“That would splendid, thank you.” 

Marinette crossed the room again, giving him time to inspect the other creations she’d given him. The first was a white, turtle-necked crop top with a pink jacket and black, ripped up jeans. The other was another dress- this time light blue -that was, in a word, frilly. Nevertheless, the material was just as impressive as the outfit on the mannequin.

“Here are the sketches. If you need anything else..” She trailed off.

Felix took the sketches with a nod. “That’ll do perfectly.”

~~~~~~

Tikki quietly watched Felix and Marinette interact from the safety of Marinette’s bed. He’d never see her up there, and if he did, he would most likely assume she’s a toy. 

Her eyes narrowed when the blonde put a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. Something about him seemed.. Off. She couldn’t put her finger on it. There was a certain feeling about him that made her suspicious. What were his motives? Why was he there?

Marinette seemed happy talking to him, blushing and stuttering from his proposal. It was a sweet thing to do, really. Vouching for the ravenette’s designs would certainly help her career.

…but there was still that _feeling_!

Tikki huffed, zipping down to hide behind Marinette’s computer. The closer she got to him, the stronger the feeling became. Yes, she’d felt this before. It was unique. But where? Why did it bother her? 

Marinette walked over to her drawers while Felix studied the clothes she’d given him moments before. It gave Tikki the cover she needed to sneak over to the chaise. Sitting so close to the boy now, the feeling seemed to overwhelm her- a sensation rippling through her entire body. It wasn’t unsettling, though. It was.. Familiar.

 _Duusu_.

“Here are the sketches. If you need anything else..” Marinette’s muffled voice trailed off, and Tikki peeked around the chaise just in time to see Felix take some papers from her. 

“That’ll do perfectly.”

Tikki frowned. Why would Felix have Duusu? Didn’t Marinette say he was the boy that taught her painting? He was just a high school student. How did he even _find_ a miraculous? 

A buzzing interrupted them, and Felix pulled out his phone.

“Ah. I’m sorry to say I must be going. Father wants me home for homework and violin lessons.”

“You play violin?” Marinette inquired, clearly awed by the fact.

Felix smiled- a smile much too soft for one of Paris’ most wanted. “I do. It’s another talent he thought I should have.”

“Will you.. Do you think you can play for me some time? If it’s not too much trouble, that is.”

Tikki couldn’t help chuckling at her chosen, always so sweet and thoughtful.

The boy’s smile faded, but he didn’t show any contempt either. He looked more of.. Grieved. 

“I’ll have to think about it.” 

“Of course, I completely understand.” Marinette replied, obviously picking up on his shift in mood as well. “See you tomorrow?”

His expression softened again, and he nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

Tikki followed the blonde out of her room- as he insisted he remembered the way back- and made sure to stay well hidden. Marinette had a habit of letting her out of her bag when she thought no one was around. Maybe this boy did the same for Duusu. 

Sure enough, when Felix stepped out into the hallway, He took one of the truffles he’d purchased and stuffed it in his vest pocket. Someone who wore designer clothing wouldn’t put chocolate in their pockets so casually.

A few seconds later, a small voice piped up. “Mm, these are delicious! So much better than the bland ones _your_ chef made!”

Tikki barely held back a gasp. She’d recognize that energetic voice anywhere.

“Hush, Duusu. Wait until we’re at home to talk, remember?” Felix scolded in a whisper, shooting his vest a disapproving look.

“Of course! I’m sorry.” Duusu apologized.

“It’s fine, just wait till later.” 

Tikki frowned. The character Felix had shown so far was nothing but respectful, solemn, and kind. None of those traits were usually found in a villain. So why would he help Hawkmoth? Why betray Ladybug’s trust and choose to fight for the wrong side?

“Oh, there you are, Tikki! Where did you go?” Marinette asked when she flew back to the room.

“Just checking something.” Tikki answered, going back to her plate of cookies. She didn’t want to tell Marinette about Duusu yet, not until she spoke to the Master. He would know what to do about all of this.

“Oh.. okay.” Her chosen shrugged. “Well, did you see Felix? Did you hear us talking?” 

“I did, and I’m excited for you!” Despite her concerns about Le Paon, the boy was promising a future for Marinette’s dream career. That was something she could support for the time being.

Marinette squealed, falling onto her chaise in a puddle of pure bliss. “I’m excited too, Tikki! He was so sweet and- oh, he liked my designs! He said I was brilliant!” 

“That’s because you _are_ brilliant, Marinette.” Tikki remarked, snuggling her holder’s cheek.

The ravenette giggled, returning the hug by cupping her with her palm. “I hope we get to talk again soon.”

Tikki simply smiled. Marinette deserved to be happy. She didn’t want to ruin that until she knew she had to.

-

The silence of the night strengthened Tikki’s resolve to stay as quiet as possible. Marinette mustn’t find out about her sneaking out. The Master was adamant that he be kept a secret until they were told otherwise.

So, as her chosen cuddled under the covers and muttered about hamsters and paintings, Tikki flew through the trap door above and headed for Master Fu’s. 

To say she was surprised when she found him already talking to Plagg was an understatement.

“Hello, Tikki. You’re just in time.” Master Fu greeted, gesturing for her to take a seat on the table.

“Hey, Sugar cube. What brings you here so late?” Plagg asked with a grin, causing Tikki to roll her eyes.

“ _Don’t_ call me that, and I’m here about Duusu.” 

“Oh, so you figured out Chuckles was Le Paon, too?” He guessed, before putting a whole slice of cheese in his mouth.

Tikki gave him a look. “Who?”

Plagg took a minute to chew, before answering.

“He’s-” Bubbles forced themselves out of Plagg’s mouth before he could finish. 

“He’s my kid’s brother.” He rephrased.

“How did you find out about it, Tikki?” Master Fu interrupted, focusing on the task at hand.

“Felix came to-” Bubbles came of Tikki’s mouth as well.

“Felix came to _our_ house today,” She continued, “And I heard him talking to Duusu on the way out.” 

Master Fu nodded, stroking his chin with a thoughtful expression. “Plagg hasn’t been able to get information about Hawkmoth from Duusu. Have you heard her say anything?”

Tikki shook her head. “I only heard her talking to Felix about the truffles.”

“Should I tell the kid? We’re supposed to be stopping them as soon as possible, right?” Plagg asked.

“True. Neutralizing an enemy would be helpful.” Master Fu began slowly. “ _However_ , we still don’t know who Hawkmoth is. If we take Felix’s miraculous, Hawkmoth will know we’re onto him. We need to be careful.”

“So.. what do we do about our chosens?” Tikki dared to ask.

“Keep them in the dark for now. Once we find out Hawkmoth’s identity, they will be able to know everything. Until then, I don’t want things getting out of hand.”

Tikki and Plagg nodded. 

“Now go back to your holders before they get worried.” He instructed, shooing them off.

The kwamis did as they were told, each flying off in different directions, both hoping everything would turn out better than the situation deemed it so.


	5. Chapter 5

_Why am I like this? All I had to do was say no. That’s all I had to do. Why am I so incapable of telling someone “no”?_ Marinette ranted to herself as she tried to hold her phone steady. 

“Come on, Mari, hurry up! We’re gonna miss the action!” Allegra urged in front of her. She was much too energetic for a girl who was running straight towards a chemical based akuma unprotected.

Marinette panned the camera upwards. The akuma, dressed in greens, whites, and purples, had announced itself as Chimiste before lighting Paris on fire using different mixtures of chemicals. Chat Noir fought bravely overhead, causing Marinette to worry her lip with guilt. She should be up there helping, not needlessly endangering herself for a dare Claude accidentally made a week ago.

“This is Allegra Chanson live on the scene for the infamous akuma known as Chimiste.” She announced, turning so her phone could catch her and the fight at once. The two decided to use both of their phones together to get more footage. 

“Chat Noir is fighting valiantly, but where is Ladybug or Le Paon?”

Marinette shifted from foot to foot at the question. She didn’t know about Le Paon, but Ladybug was certainly make some bad decisions right about now.

“You won’t stop me alone! Once I get your miraculous, the other scientists will take me seriously, and my work will be known worldwide!” Chimiste shouted, throwing a silver liquid across the top of the building they were fighting on. 

Chat Noir pounced on the akuma, who merely rolled to the side. Before her partner could recover, Chimiste dropped a pink ball of goo onto the silver substance. This created a chain reaction, and the rest of the silver chemical spontaneously exploded.

“Allegra, move!” Marinette yelled as the building in front of them collapsed. 

She barely managed to push Allegra forward when a chunk of drywall twice her size fell between them. Marinette stumbled back, tripped over her own two feet, and landing on the dark cement of the road. Blood pounded in her ears as adrenaline surged through her. 

“Look out!” 

Marinette’s gaze snapped upwards just in time to see another piece of the building falling right above her. Before it could crush her, though, something came flying through the air, effectively slicing the brick in half. She coughed up the dust that clouded the air when each half landed on either side of her.

“What are you doing here?” A voice asked frantically. Marinette barely had time to register the owner of the voice as Le Paon while he hid his fan in his sleeve. 

His arms wrapped around her, and the next thing she knew, they were in the air. The familiar rush of wind combed through her hair, though it felt a bit stronger without the suit. The blur of the Paris streets passed below, and the jumps were shorter than they felt as Ladybug.

 _So this is what it’s like_. She thought, absently wrapping her arms tighter around Le Paon’s neck. As Ladybug, it was only natural to carry citizens across Paris to safety, but she hadn’t thought of what it must be like to be the one carried. It’s a wonderful feeling, actually. Being tucked against Le Paon’s chest, with his strong arms holding her close- she felt safe, secure. It was weirdly comforting, somehow.

.. _Wait_.

This was Le _Paon_ , public enemy number one and _terrorist of Paris._ There was nothing safe or secure about him! On top of that, Why was he even saving her? Chat Noir was alone right now. It would be the perfect time to strike! Why risk his chances of helping her if Ladybug wasn’t even there to see it? It gained him nothing.

Le Paon finally stopped a few blocks away, setting her down in a hidden alleyway.

“You’ll be safe here. Do me a favor and _don’t_ run straight towards danger again.” He requested.

Marinette blinked, simply watching him leave as quickly as he came. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on her. Her moral enemy just saved her from the damage _he_ was causing. Then told her to _be safe_. She might consider it sweet if it wasn’t so confusing. The gesture conflicted with everything she assumed about Le Paon, and as she transformed for the battle, Marinette couldn’t help asking the same question over and over:

 _Why_?

-

Ladybug landed in an alleyway and detransformed, stretching her arms out in front of her with a sigh. She ended up saving Allegra, Alya, and Claude- all within a matter of minutes -during her fight with Chimist. Why can’t they report from the safety of a building? Pictures from a window would surely be sufficient.

After giving Tikki a cookie, Marinette slipped out of her hiding spot and searched for the building she’d thrown Allegra in earlier. That girl was bound to be worried after the way they were separated.

“Marinette!” 

Marinette barely took two steps when someone collided into her with a hug. She yelped, stumbling a bit to keep them from falling.

“Oh, Mari, I was so worried!” Allegra said, holding her closer. “I didn’t see you after the building collapsed, and then Ladybug said you were fine, but you weren’t answering my calls!” 

Oops. She’d forgotten her phone doesn’t receive calls while she’s Ladybug.

“Sorry, Allegra. I must have dropped my phone when Le Paon saved me earlier. How did you find me so fast?”

Allegra finally let her breath, pulling back to look her over for injuries.

“Oh, you know, Miraculous cure and all tha- _Wait_.” Her sky blue eyes snapped to Marinette’s with an intensity that made her squirm. 

“ _Le Paon_ saved you?”

Oh, she did _not_ like the way Allegra asked that question.

“..Yes?”

Her friend’s sky blue eyes bulged out of her head, and she whipped around to dig through her purse. 

“Are you serious? This is great! We totally have to do an interview about this.” Allegra said eagerly.

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. Interview? 

“Allegra, Wha-”

Before she could finish, a phone was held up in front of her face, and Allegra started reciting her intro.

“This is Allegra Chanson with Marinette Dupain-Cheng at the scene of the latest akuma attack where this girl has just been _saved_ by Le Paon! Please explain what happened.”

Marinette faltered under the camera and the weight of Allegra’s question.

What _had_ happened? Her sworn enemy saved her. One could argue it was out of the goodness of his heart, but did a terrorist have such a thing?

“Well..” She began, choosing her words carefully. “I was trying to help film the fight when the building next to me collapse. I thought I was going to be crushed, but Le Paon came out of nowhere and cut the rock in half with his fan. Then he picked me up and brought me to a hidden alleyway to hide from the akuma.” 

Allegra was beaming at this point, obviously forcing herself to stay still as she asked, “Did he say anything to you? What happened next?” 

Marinette closed her eyes for a moment to remember. Everything happened so fast. She recalled him holding her, the way the feathers lining his collar tickled her arms, and how he sparkled in the light before jumping away.

“He told me to be safe.” She finally answered. “But that’s all he said.”

“So the supposed ‘Villain of Paris’ has saved yet another civilian! How do you feel about that?”

She sighed. Another difficult question. “I guess.. I’m grateful. Villain or not, Le Paon did save my life today. I can’t ignore that.”

Marinette didn’t know why Le Paon was helping Hawkmoth, or why he’d lied to her a few weeks ago, but she knew now that there must be a reason. Otherwise, he would have left her there on the road as a mere casualty. 

“There you have it, people of Paris! Another witness of Le Paon’s deeds begs the question: Are we sure Le Paon is really the villain? Is it possible his intentions are pure? Tune in next time on ‘Birds of a Feather’!”

Allegra stopped the recording and let out an excited squeal. “Mari, this is amazing! I can’t wait to edit the footage.”

Marinette forced a laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure your viewers will like it.”

Allegra’s smile faded at the awkward tone and she gave her a concerned look. “Are you sure you’re okay? That was more dangerous than I expected. I’d understand if you don’t want to help me film anymore.”

Logically, she knew she should take the out. Allegra was being quite merciful with the offer, and Marinette knew she probably wouldn’t get a second chance to bail. Tikki would have her accept in a heartbeat. She’d be able to transform and fight the akumas without interruptions or setbacks.

 _Emotionally_ , however..

“Actually.. I think I like being a camera-girl.” 

Her encounter with Le Paon had caught her by surprise. It was intriguing to be reunited with the person Ladybug met on the rooftop nights ago. She wanted to see him again- the _real_ him, if her suspicions were correct. She wanted to know why he was doing what he was doing, and why he forced himself to put up a front when her alter-ego was around. How much would Le Paon reveal to simple Marinette?

Allegra’s grin returned, and she looped their arms together. “Awesome! Why don’t I come over to your house after school to edit the videos and figure out better ways to record the fights?”

Marinette smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

Here’s to hoping she made the right decision.

~~~~~~

Felix massaged his temples to soothe his oncoming headache as he walked to the locker room. He had been _this_ close to capturing Chat Noir’s miraculous today! If he hadn’t changed directions to help Marinette, Felix would be holding the cat miraculous at this very moment. Why was she on the battlefield? Why did he have to care whether she got crushed or not?

He sighed, opening his locker. Father wasn’t going to be pleased. This was the second time he had failed in retrieving the miraculous. In all fairness, how was he supposed to know that Ladybug would be able to neutralize all of Chimiste’s chemicals with a single tin of salt?

“Girl, I can’t believe you’re helping Allegra with her blog! That’s just wrong.” Alya humphed.

Felix glanced in their direction just in time to see Marinette’s apologetic smile. “Sorry, Alya. Allegra surprised me, and I felt bad saying no.”

 _So that’s why she was in the middle of the attack._ He thought bitterly. Of course Allegra would drag the innocent girl into her ludicrous ideas. 

“It’s not like the Ladyblog’s getting a lot of competition, though, right?” The ravenette continued. “Le Paon’s a villain.”

Felix supposed he should be used to comments such as those by now, considering he’d been hearing them relentlessly for the past week. He pushed his books into his bag and got ready to slip past them. No need to interrupt their _delightful_ conversation or anything.

“That’s not what the viewers think.” Alya tisked.

He paused at the comment, hand hovering on the locker door. 

The brunette pulled out her phone, and Felix chanced a look in their direction. A lengthy list of names resided on the screen, hidden underneath Allegra’s new video _“Is Le Paon really the villain?”._

“He’s gotten really popular after saving you earlier. People are starting to think he might actually be a good person.”

Marinette frowned. “Then why would he be working for Hawkmoth?”

“No idea.” Her friend shrugged. “But Allegra’s viewers want to know. That’s how she’s drawing them in! It’s so unfair.” 

Felix closed his locker door, and ducked past them. People are actually starting to think Le Paon isn’t a villain?

He unlocked his phone and searched for the video of his alter ego. What the Ladyblogger said had been true. The video currently held thousands of views and continued to grow by the minute. How could a simple video create such an uproar?

“Hey, Fe! How was your day at school?” Adrien asked as they climbed into their car.

“Uneventful. I assume you’re going to tell me about yours?” 

“My day was great!” His little brother beamed. “Mrs. Bustier gave us a group assignment, which will hopefully give me more time with friends, and Marinette brought cookies!” 

Felix hummed, remembering his visit to her bakery last week. Though he himself didn’t like sweets, he imagined the cookies she brought tasted delicious to Adrien. 

“Is that a video? What’s it about?” Adrien asked next, peering over his shoulder at the phone. Allegra’s video was still splayed across the screen. 

“Just something I heard about in the locker room.” He answered, pressing play. Might as well watch it now before he got home.

**~This is Allegra Chanson with Marinette Dupain-Cheng at the scene of the latest akuma attack where this girl has just been _saved_ by Le Paon!~**

“Woah, Marinette was there? I didn’t see her.” Adrien thought aloud.

Felix rose a brow. “You weren’t there. This happened today, Adrien.”

Something akin to panic flashed in his brother’s eyes, and he let out a nervous laugh.

“O-Oh yeah, right. I was in class. No reason I’d be anywhere else.” He stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

**~Well..~**

Marinette’s uncertain voice came through the speakers, drawing the boys’ attention back to the video.

**~I was trying to help film the fight when the building next to me collapse. I thought I was going to be crushed, but Le Paon came out of nowhere and cut the rock in half with his fan. Then he picked me up and brought me to a hidden alleyway to hide from the akuma.~**

Adrien frowned. “Le Paon did that? There’s no way.”

Felix hushed him. Aside from the rising irritation about the comments of Le Paon, he couldn’t hear the video properly with his interruptions.

 **~Did he say anything to you? What happened next?~** Allegra asked eagerly. 

Marinette stared off for a moment, and he swore her expression softened ever so slightly. 

**~..He told me to be safe, but that was all.~**

**~So the supposed ‘Villain of Paris’ has saved yet another civilian! How do you feel about that?~**

Felix almost turned off the video then, half expecting her to simply insult him like the others did, but for some reason, he continued to watch. 

**~I guess.. I’m grateful. Villain or not, Le Paon did save my life today. I can’t ignore that.~**

Adrien and Felix shared a shocked expression. She was.. grateful. Even though Le Paon was the cause of danger, the reason Paris fell to shambles on a weekly basis, she was grateful.

**~There you have it, people of Paris! Another witness of Le Paon’s deeds begs the question: Are we sure Le Paon is really the villain? Is it possible his intentions are pure? Tune in next time on ‘Birds of a Feather’!~**

Adrien scoffed as the video cut out. “Le Paon having pure intentions? I doubt that. Is Marinette sure he’s the one that even saved her?”

“You don’t believe her?” Felix asked, growing a bit defensive despite himself. 

Adrien faltered. “No, I just.. I guess I don’t get it.”

Felix shrugged and put his phone back in his bag. He couldn’t say he understood the situation either. Father seemed set on taking the miraculous by force, but couldn’t they discuss this peacefully? At the very least, why not make akumas that weren’t as destructive. Father could easily create a stealth akuma or an akuma that detects the miraculous and steals them from the holder without them knowing. 

Honestly, Felix didn’t know. He was only sure of one thing as he rewatched Allegra’s video on the way home.

_Father is definitely not going to be pleased._

~~~~~~

Nathalie neatly stacked her reports and slipped them into their designated folder. After this, she needed to file Gabriel’s newest designs, call back a few of his clients, reschedule Friday’s meetings-

A dinging sound took her from her mental list, instead focusing her attention on the blue screen of the computer. The small, orange bubble that represented a notification rested in the bottom left corner. She clicked on it, wondering which extravagant celebrity was messaging Gabriel now.

**~ “Birds of a Feather” posted a new video: Is Le Paon really the villain?~**

Nathalie narrowed her eyes. Wasn’t ‘Le Paon’ the name that little brat had chosen for his miraculous?

She opened the tab to let the video play, a mix of curious and bitter. _She_ should have the peacock miraculous- using a much better name, at that. If Gabriel wasn’t blinded by his feelings for his son, he would see that they can’t trust an ignorant child with a powerful jewel so casually.

Two girls appeared on the screen, one blonde and one with raven-colored hair. The blonde chattered on about Le Paon’s latest rescue, before turning the ravenette for details.

A smile curled onto Nathalie’s lips, and she swiftly pushed herself to her feet. Today’s akuma came close to getting Chat Noir’s miraculous, but because of Le Paon’s absence, Ladybug arrived in time to stop them both. It’d be a shame if Gabriel found out the reason for the loss was Le Paon’s weakness, even worse if he became furious about it and took Felix’s miraculous away.

 _Such a shame._ She thought as she opened Gabriel’s office door. Where would she wear the peacock pin? On the left side of her suit coat, or the right side? Maybe she’ll ask Gabriel for his opinion on the matter.

“Sir, there’s a video about Le Paon.” She informed coolly.

“About Felix?” Gabriel echoed, looking up from his screen with a frown.

“Yes, sir.” 

His frown deepened, yet he still looked handsome as ever as he took her tablet to watch the video. 

“Bring Felix to my office when he gets home.” He instructed once the video ended.

Nathalie took far too much pleasure in his grim expression. She hated seeing him troubled, but knowing he was troubled about Felix made it worth it.

“Of course.” She said, masking her gratuitously cheerful mood with a neutral tone. This was it. This was the day Gabriel would realize his mistake and confide in a more worthy partner: her. She could help him fight against the dubbed “heroes of Paris”, they would grow closer as an unstoppable duo, and he would soon find out who he could truly rely on.

-

“Felix, you’re father would like a word with you.”

She didn’t hesitate calling the blond out when he stepped through the door. Felix sent her a glare, but he couldn’t hide the nervousness swirling in his icy eyes. 

They quietly entered the room- because Nathalie wouldn’t dream of missing this reprimanding -and waited for Gabriel’s attention. She reveled in the way Felix stood stiff in front of the door. 

How the arrogant fall.

“This is the second time put the lives of others ahead of your mother’s, Felix.” Gabriel finally began.

Felix tensed. “I can’t just watch innocent people die.”

“You can when you know they’ll live.” Her boss snapped. “If it weren’t for you saving that girl, we’d have Chat Noir’s miraculous.”

Nathalie soaked it all up like a sponge. All that’s left now is to take Felix’s miraculous, and things will be back on their _proper_ coarse.

“That said, I suppose some praise is also due.”

“What?” Felix and Nathalie said in unison. Why on earth should he get praise? He _failed_! 

“It’s a brilliant tactic, turning the people of Paris against the heroes themselves. Well done.” Gabriel stated.

The two blinked, dumbfounded by his comment.

“Ah.. thank you.” Felix finally replied. 

Gabriel nodded. “Nevertheless, remember to keep your focus on Ladybug. If you have to choose between saving a civilian and getting the miraculous, _get the miraculous_.” 

Felix swallowed. She could see the clench of his fists, the way his lips tightened into a line to keep from arguing.

 _Argue, brat_. Nathalie thought with a mental scowl. _Try to snark off to Gabriel like you do to me daily._

He only nodded, and Nathalie gripping her tablet to keep from screaming. This wasn’t reasonable! _None of this_ was reasonable! He’d failed them. Gabriel said it himself. There was _no room_ for second chances!

“Good. You are excused.”

And yet, Felix got to breathe a sigh of relief as he left the office with nothing more than a trivial _warning_. Would she have received any warnings if she had the peacock miraculous? It was doubtful, and that made her all the more enraged.

“Sir, if I may, are you sure Felix is a suitable candidate for the Peacock miraculous?” She’d stood by and watched this madness continue for two weeks now. If nothing changed after the disaster that morning, she might pull her hair out.

Gabriel rose a brow. “He’s my son. Of course he’s fit for a miraculous.”

Nathalie willed herself not to groan. Of course. His son. Was that the only good quality Felix possessed? Would she forever be second-best in Gabriel’s eyes because of something as delicate as a bloodline?

“I merely wondered if Felix is.. _committed_ , like we are.” 

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “My decision about the miraculous is final. As his mother, I’m sure Emilie would want Felix to be a part of her healing. Do not question me again.”

Nathalie bit her tongue and forced herself to breath. You know what? This was fine. Felix being Gabriel’s son can only pardon him for so long. He’ll eventually make more mistakes. He has to. 

“Apologies. It won’t happen again.” 

As the old saying states: all good comes to those who wait.

~~~~~~

Felix shifted in his reading nook and stared at his book, mesmerizing the curve of the words and texture of the page. 

_“If you have to choose between saving a civilian and getting the miraculous, get the miraculous.”_

How could Father say such a thing? How can he expect Felix sacrifice breathing, living people for a pair of earrings? The whole reason they were after the jewelry was because his mother was on the brink of death. Father can’t expect him to put someone else in that situation. Yes, the Miraculous Cure brings people back to life, but they still _died_. He imagines that sticks with a person.

At least he got to see the pure rage on Nathalie’s face as he left the room. Felix thought her head was going to explode when Father started complimenting him.

“Alright, Fe. Spill it.” 

The stern tone of Adrien’s voice brought him from his thoughts, and he looked up to see Adrien with crossed arms and a concerned expression. That’s never good.

“Excuse me?”

“You’ve been staring at that page for the past hour. We both know you could read a full book in that time span.”

“Since when do you document my reading pace?” Felix quipped.

“Since you started keeping me up from page-flipping during your nightly reading.”

“How does that keep you awake?”

“ _The point is_ ,” Adrien sighed, “Father’s been calling you to his office a lot lately. Is everything okay?”

Felix set down his book with a small smile. It was good to know Adrien cared. Unfortunately, this was one thing he couldn’t confide in his brother about. 

“We have a new fashion line coming up, remember? Preparation is key.”

Adrien’s shoulders sagged slightly. “I guess.. So, you’re okay then?”

Felix nodded, putting his book to the side and standing up. “Perfectly fine. In fact, I’m going to downtown to the library. A new book is supposed to be coming out, and I want to explore the other books from the author before it arrives.”

He felt Adrien’s eyes on him as he crossed the room to get his book bag.

“Don’t we have our own library that’s _full_ of books downstairs?”

Felix rose a brow. “And?” 

His brother chuckled. “Just make sure Father knows you’re leaving. You know how he gets.”

Felix nodded and slipped on his book bag, knowing full well he wasn’t going to tell Father anything. Sometimes it was good to have some alone time. (and he meant _actually_ alone, not with Gorilla looming over him like Father normally suggested.)

“I’ll see you later.”

-

Father had grown extremely adamant about security and keeping an eye on them at all times since mother died, but, as usual, his overabundance was his downfall. Because he wanted to keep them in the house, Father attempted to supply them with their every need, food included. This resulted in the building of a storage door, where the delivery man can hull in his orders without fuss. It _also_ resulted in a subtle way to sneak out if Felix wished to do so. 

He didn’t use it often, else Father might find it and patch it up immediately, but for certain occasions such as- say -going on late night runs as Le Paon, the door was a nice convenience for him.

After scanning the room for cameras and nosy employees, Felix slipped through said door and stepped out in the night air. It was crisp this evening, the faint wind emphasizing the temperature. He’s sure Le Paon won’t feel a thing, though, with his feather-lined overcoat.

“Duusu, spread my feathers!” 

The magic wrapped around him like a second skin, bringing warmth and strength with it. Felix- now Le Paon -set his bag next to the door, hoping he remembers to bring it in when he comes back. 

Le Paon set off, using a fire escape to get to the rooftops. Telling Adrien that he was going to the library gave him at least a few hours to roam the streets. 

A deep breath pressed against the caves of his chest as he took a particularly large leap. The feathers on his overcoat brought him higher into the air, giving him the breathtaking view of Paris.

Lights littered the city and illuminated the sky with it. A few civilians could be spotted on the sidewalks, some on the phone, some together, and others simply enjoying the scenery as he was. The eiffel tower stood tall and firm, shining the brightest in the middle of it all. Everything was so peaceful. He couldn’t help feeling grateful- once again -for Ladybug’s Miraculous Cure. It’d be a shame if Paris had to stay in ruin after their attacks.

 _Attacks_. He didn’t like the sound of that. Then again, there wasn’t another way to describe it either.

After an hour or two of aimlessly wandering around with his thoughts, Le Paon stopped on a lone balcony. He settled into a small, pink lawn chair next to a trapdoor, telling himself he would only stay for a moment. The chances of someone coming up here and finding him were slim, anyway. 

Stars sprinkled the sky above, so small and pure. A part of Felix wished his troubles were that small too. (being millions of miles away from him would also help.) It’s not that he didn’t want his mother back, or that he wasn’t elated about a possible cure for her illness, but he didn’t understand why the process of getting the jewelry had to be forceful. Yes, they had to lure out the heroes. That was fine, but why continue the fight after they reveal themselves? Perhaps Father didn’t think they would agree to his request? What if-

A slam interrupted his thoughts, and he sprang from the lawn chair to look for the source. 

The trapdoor had been pushed open, and there, standing midway through, was none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Silence stretched between as they stared at each other, holding equally shocked expressions. A million thoughts clouded Le Paon’s mind, the loudest of which being how he missed their bakery’s sign for the _second_ time.

He bolted out of the chair, gripping the metal railing and swinging himself over it. If he ran fast enough, he’d be home and detransformed before the cops could even make it to her house.

“Wait!”

Le Paon froze at the bottom of her rooftop, heart pounding in his chest. He thought about running home, about ignoring her plea and pretending it wouldn’t keep him up that night.

He turns to face her anyway, and she seems just as shocked about the outburst, with her hand to her mouth and eyes wide.

“I..” Marinette starts, shyly meeting his eyes. “I didn’t get to thank you. For saving me, I mean.”

 _Oh, the situations I get myself into._ He thought, glancing in the direction of his house. Father wouldn’t like his alter ego talking to others. That could jeopardize his identity or get him captured. 

_But it’s just Marinette._ Le Paon told himself, hesitantly climbing back onto the balcony. It’s not like he was having another 3am conversation with Ladybug. 

“You really don’t have to thank me for anything.” He said, hoisting himself onto the railing to sit.

Marinette furrowed her brow, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she crossed her arms and leaned on the balcony next to him. He wondered what kind of confidence one must have to be so comfortable with someone of his status. She didn’t even have her phone out in case she needed to call the police. (She wouldn’t have to, but still.)

“Can I ask you something?” She spoke up, eyes trailing up to the sky in thought.

Le Paon followed her gaze and shrugged. A simple question shouldn’t hurt.

“If you’re willing to save people like me, why are you helping Hawkmoth terrorize the city?”

 _People like her_ , she says, as if she _isn’t_ the most unique and radiant human being in all of Paris. 

“It’s complicated. You wouldn’t understand.” He wanted to tell her, or at least talk to _someone_ about it, but Felix had a feeling Marinette wouldn’t see his side of things. Not only that, he had both Ladybug and Father to worry about. If Father knew he told someone about the miraculous, he’d be furious, and Ladybug, if Marinette somehow slipped up or purposely revealed his reasoning, might be able to find him faster. 

A light touch enveloped his hand, and his gaze snapped to hers.

“Maybe.. I would?” Marinette said carefully, squeezing her hand around his with a gentle reassurance. “I know we just met, but.. everyone needs someone to talk to, and.. I’m willing to listen. I-If you want, that is.”

Felix exhaled, completely floored. This girl who’s never met him before- that she knows of -is stretching forth her hand with kindness. Despite being strangers, despite _knowing_ he’s a dangerous villain.. She’s offering to help him.

“It’s my mother.”

He should go.

“She’s fallen into a coma.” 

He should leave right now before he sinks further into whatever this is.

“We’ve tried everything with no cure.” and yet, he continues. “There’s a rumor that if the Ladybug and Chat Noir miraculous come together, they can grant one wish. If I could _just_ get the miraculous..” 

Le Paon shook his head, pulling his hand away. “I’m sorry. I need to go. I’ve been gone too long already.”

“Will I see you again?” She asked as he slipped off the railing.

He held back a chuckle. Inviting a villain back to your own home? Marinette really was careless.

“I’m glad you’re safe.” Le Paon replied, not quite answering her question. He then slid to the bottom of the roof, allowing himself one last look as he left. 

Exactly how much did he mess up just now?

~~~~~~

Marinette watched Le Paon leave, dumbfounded.

She was.. right. She was right! Le Paon wasn’t a villain! He just wants his mother back!

Oh crap, she was _right_. What is she gonna do now? Marinette can’t fight him after tonight. She’ll have to, though. He’s still terrorizing the city, whether it’s for a good reason or not. 

Wait, if _he’s_ doing this for his mother, and it can be assumed that Hawkmoth is doing this for the same reason, then who is Le Paon’s mother? Why does Hawkmoth care about her? Are the three related somehow? 

Then there’s that wish Le Paon mentioned. Could the two miraculous really be that powerful?

“Tikki, is what he said true? Can the miraculous really grant a wish like that?” She asked, looking down at the red kwami. The small being had reappeared a few minutes after Le Paon’s exit.

Tikki looked conflicted. “Well, yes, but there’s a trick to it, Marinette. The universe has things happen for a reason. So for every wish you make, something will happen somewhere else to keep the balance.”

“So if he took the miraculous and wished for his mother to be healed-”

“Someone else would get sick, or even die.” Tikki finished with a nod. “Aside from that, no one should have that much power.”

Marinette sighed. That wasn’t the news she wanted to hear, and she’s sure Le Paon will be devastated about it too. Could she even tell him about it? As Marinette, he’d wonder how she knew, and she couldn’t tell him as Ladybug for obvious reasons. Le Paon would think she betrayed him and never come back.

“How do I get myself into these situations?” She groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Tikki put a hand on her shoulder. “Because you’re a true Ladybug. It’s good that you want to help people.”

“Not when I don’t know how.”

“We’ll find a way.” Tikki promised.

Yes, Marinette was sure they would, but many people would suffer in the meantime?

And how would she face Le Paon as Ladybug until then?


	6. Chapter 6

Felix stared out the car window, watching the buildings pass.

_“Maybe.. I would?”_

He absently touched his hand. 

_“Everyone needs someone to talk to, and.. I’m willing to listen. I-If you want, that is.”_

He’d stumbled upon Marinette’s house last night as Le Paon, and they ended up sharing a small conversation. A conversation that had been replaying in his mind since he left. The way she looked at him with a delicate tenderness, the way she spoke to him with a soft understanding despite the circumstances- how could anyone possibly be so selfless and caring?

“Felix?” 

His thoughts were cut short by Adrien, who was knocking on his window. 

“Are you going to get out of the car?”

Felix glanced over his brother’s shoulder to see the school complex in front of them. Students of all ages walked inside without a care, chattering away to each other. When did they arrive? Did Gorilla take a shortcut?

“You’ve been spaced out all morning.” Adrien pointed out as Felix got out of the car. 

“I was rearranging my schedule to read some of the books I selected at the library.” 

Adrien furrowed his brow. “Mentally?” 

“Is there any other way?” Felix replied, starting up the stairs.

“Well, there’s such a thing as paper.” His little brother grumbled. 

He smirked. “Not as efficient. See you after classes.” 

The two split up, Adrien going to his class and Felix going to the lockers. Duusu always liked a morning snack before they started classes. 

He reached out to push open the locker doors, but before he could, the door swung open on its own, barely missing him. Then, within the next breath, someone came barreling out of the room and crashed right into him. 

They stumbled a few steps, and Felix habitually steadied the other student by grabbing their shoulders.

“I-I’m so sorry!” A pair of bluebell eyes gazed up at him, wide and worried. 

_“Will I see you again?”_

He smiled. 

“It’s not a problem, Marinette. Late again?”

A delightful pink spread across her freckled cheeks. “Ha, yeah.. You know me.” 

_I certainly do._ He thought as he propped her upright. 

“Remember to watch where you’re going, please.”

Marinette nodded, though she seemed a bit stiff for some reason. “Right! Of course. I’d- we- it’s class? - I mean, it’s _time_ for class. I should- _We_ should probably. Get. to class.” 

“Yes, that would probably be best.” He chuckled, finally letting his hand fall from her shoulders. If he held her any longer, she might find it weird. (even though a part of him couldn’t shake the urge to pull her closer)

“S-See you later, I guess.” She said, fumbling passed him.

Felix shook his head with a smile. How did she ever get through life without constant supervision?

“You’re late.” Allegra pointed out as he walked into the classroom.

“And you’re infernal.” Felix retorted. 

“You’re smiling.” Claude added as he sat down.

“I’m not allowed to smile?”

“Not without a reason.” Allegra replied. “The disdainful Felix Agreste doesn’t simply ‘smile because he feels like it’.”

Felix rolled his eyes, smile officially gone. “You’re both ridiculous. Haven’t you anything better to do than meddle in my personal life?”

“Nope!” Allegra chirped.

“I bet you he ran into Marinette.” Claude whispered, leaning closer to Allegra as if he were telling a secret.

Felix’s scoff only confirmed it for them.

“Oh~ Good guess.” She praised.

“You should see him in the art club. He’s like putty in her hands, and it’s _totally_ unfair.”

Felix bristled. “That’s absurd!”

Claude and Allegra simply smirked at him. Even Allan was giving him a stupid look!

“I’ll start planning the bouquet arrangements for the wedding~.” Allegra announced, setting her chin on the back of her hand and giving him a wink.

His cheeks burned from embarrassment, but he tisked. Anything said now would only dig him deeper into this hole he’d fallen into. “Putty in her hands”- who did they think they were talking about? Marinette might be sweet and wholesome and all-around everything good in the world, but that did _not_ mean he would fall under her influence. Felix Agreste wouldn’t be swayed by the simple brush of her raven-colored bangs, or the overwhelmingly enchanting blue of her eyes, or the adorably endearing rambles that tumbled from her lips ever so often.

No, sir.

“You think he’ll be able to win her over?” Claude asked, much too loudly in Felix’s opinion.

Allan, to everyone’s surprise, laughed. “Felix? Salt-incarnate winning over our blueberry muffin? I’d want to see that.”

If Felix wasn’t blushing before, he certainly was now. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say he could melt the Antarctic from how hot his cheeks felt at the moment.

“Guess we’ll have to give them a little _push_ then, won’t we?” Allegra mused, throwing Felix a sly look.

Oh, wonderful. He couldn’t _wait_ to see what she meant by “Push”.

~~~~~~

Marinette tapped her pencil on the desk, mind reeling and cheeks burning. Why did she stutter like that in front of Felix? She’s _never_ stuttered like that before! Well, she’s stuttered, but.. but not like that! That was ridiculous! How did he understand a word she said?

Don’t even get her started on the reason she was so spaced out in the first place. Le Paon was still plaguing her mind a day later. The situation with his mother made her stomach churn. She didn’t know how to help, despite desperately wanting to. How could she resolve the situation peacefully without giving up her miraculous? Was it possible she could heal his mother _without_ the wish?

“Hello~? Earth to Marinette?” Alya sang, nudging her in the arm.

Marinette flinched, offering her an apologetic smile. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

The brunette chuckled and waved it off. “Never mind, just some Ladybug stuff you’re probably sick of. Everything okay? You’ve been spacing out on me all morning.”

“Yeah, everything’s fine, I just..” She trailed off, her thoughts floating back to Le Paon. She couldn’t exactly tell Alya about that, could she? If word got out, he might not visit her again. Besides, the owner of the Ladyblog probably wasn’t interested in Ladybug’s sworn enemy staying at her balcony, or how they technically held hands during his confession, or the way his fuchsia eyes seemed to twinkle with amazement when he looked at her-

“Oh girl, your face is so red! Spill!” 

Marinette squirmed in her seat, trying to avoid Alya’s gaze. “N-Nothing! I just ran into Felix and-”

Alya gasped. “Felix _Agreste_!?”

Marinette clamped a hand over her friend’s mouth, her eyes snapping to Adrien.

Thankfully, he didn’t notice them, enjoying a chatty conversation with Nino about Jagged’s latest concert.

Marinette let out a sigh of relief and let go of Alya, who was practically bouncing in her seat at this point.

“You have a crush on Felix Agreste??”

“W-What?” Marinette flushed. “No! When did I say that?”

Alya squealed. “Girl, you totally do! Oh, this is great. We’ve got to get the squad in on this. You two are gonna look so cute together! I call to be maid of honor at the wedding!”

Marinette shoved Alya’s phone down before she could text anyone. “Alya, _please_. There’s _not_ gonna be a wedding, and I _don’t_ have a crush on Felix.”

“Fine.” Alya relented, to her relief. “I can tell the girls about it later, anyway. Don’t worry, Marinette. I’ll have you and Felix together in no time.”

Marinette groaned at the promise, letting her head drop on the desk. She does _not_ like the sound of that. 

“Hey, Marinette?” 

She yelped at Adrien’s voice, causing the two boys in front of her to jump as well.

“Are.. are you okay?” The blonde asked.

“What? Me? Course! Why wouldn’t I be?” She said with a nervous laugh.

The two boys shared a look, and Alya snorted.

“Okay.. well, did you check your schedule? Are you free this afternoon for the project?”

Ah, right. Mlle. Bustier assigned a group project yesterday. Coincidentally, She and Adrien got paired together. 

Marinette ignored Alya’s wry grin as she offered Adrien a smile. “Yep! Maman and Papa don’t need help in the bakery. I’m all yours.”

He perked up. “Great! I have a shoot right after classes, but you can come over around five?”

“Perfect.”

“Mm~ Perfect, indeed.” Alya snickered.

Marinette rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t deny the convenience of the situation. At least she’d be the only one going to their house. If Alya came with them to meddle.. Well, she didn’t _want_ to even imagine how that would turn out. 

_Now I just have to make sure I don’t embarrass myself again._ She thought. 

..Probably easier said than done.

~~~~~~

“Wee~!” Duusu sang as she looped through the air. 

Felix cracked a smile, glancing up from his book to give her an amused look. “Don’t you ever get dizzy doing that?”

The tiny being only laughed, pausing briefly to flash her holder a grin. “Of course not! Flying is so much fun I could do it forever~!”

Duusu shouted with joy and zipped around the library. Felix knew she would enjoy the open space. It wasn’t often Duusu got to roam freely without constantly hiding.

“Felix? Are you in here?” 

Of course, there was only so much privacy that their mansion’s library could provide. 

“Yes, Adrien, what is it?” He replied, watching his little brother slip in through the wooden doors.

Adrien grinned, thankfully not noticing Duusu’s dash for the empty flower pot near the fireplace. “Do you know where the history books for France are? Do we even have books like that?”

Felix frowned, but set his book aside and stood. “Of course we have books like that here, but why do you need them?”

“Remember that group project I mentioned the other day? We’re doing it on the presidents.”

“We?”

A chime rang through the mansion.

Adrien straightened. “She’s here!”

“ _She_?”

His brother didn’t answer, instead racing out of the library and leaving the few books he’d gathered behind. Felix followed after him, curiosity piqued. Father didn’t usually allow visitors to the mansion. On that note, what girl would Adrien want to hang out with? 

_It better not be Chloe again_. He thought with a scowl, lingering near the staircase as Adrien went to open the door. Didn’t Nathalie usually invite people inside? Where did she disappear to? He didn’t remember her requesting a day off.

The door swung open, and Felix gaped despite himself.

“Marinette?”

The ravenette stood awkwardly in the doorway, offering them both a shy wave. “Oh! Hey, Felix.. Nice to see you.”

“What are you doing here?” He asked, crossing the room to stand in front of her. 

“The group project.” Adrien cut in. “We got paired together!”

Felix hummed, hiding how delighted he was at the information by inviting her inside. So, Adrien and Marinette got paired together for a project? That’s a pleasant surprise. Would she visit more often than today? Why did he feel so hopeful that she would?

_“He’s like putty in her hands.”_

Felix shook Claude’s ludicrous words from his mind and turned back to Marinette. She was looking around the house now, eyes wide with amazement. 

“I knew you guys were rich, but _dang_.” She commented.

Adrien snorted, and Felix held back a smile. Typical reaction.

“They’re simply bribes our Father used to keep us in the house.” He said, getting another laugh from Adrien.

Marinette, however, seemed to still. “What?”

The brothers exchanged glances. 

“It was just a joke.” Felix assured.

“ _Mostly_.” Adrien muttered under his breath. 

“ _Not helping_.” Felix grit, nudging him in the side. Whether it was true or not, he didn’t want Marinette pitying them. 

“Anyway, our room’s upstairs, and the library’s two doors passed the stairs. Where would you prefer to work?” He continued. They couldn’t change anything now. Hopefully pushing the subject to the side will make her forget about it.

..Hopefully.

Marinette frowned. He crossed his fingers.

“I guess the library would make the most sense..” She finally answered.

“Great!” Adrien chirped, wrapping an arm her shoulders. “I already picked out a few books. Do you have any references?”

Felix relaxed- though, knowing Marinette, he doubted the subject would be dropped so easily. Her sweetness and determination did come with a price. If she was willing to stop a random “terrorist” in the night, She’d probably full-on adopt her average, law-abiding classmates. 

“You’ll find the history books on the left corner of the library. If you need any help, I’ll be sitting by the fire.” He informed, settling back into the green easy-chair. 

Marinette smiled. “Thanks, Felix.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know you could be so _helpful_.” Adrien smirked.

Felix shot him a glare. “I simply know my way around the library.” 

“If you say so.” 

His rising agitation was snuffed out by Marinette’s enthusiastic gasp in one of the aisles.

“Wow, you guys have books on just about anything! There’s even an aisle dedicated to gardening!”

“Two aisles, actually.” Felix corrected. 

“And there are so many books on Fashion!” She gushed, sliding her hand across the spines of the books.

“Naturally. As current head of the fashion empire, we have to keep up with the constant changes.”

“So keeping books is like keeping a catalogue. Not to mention, getting inspiration from old ideas isn’t unheard of now-a-days.”

“Precisely. You never fail to impress, as usual.” He complimented, gaining a bashful smile from her.

“‘You never fail to impress’? Who are you?” Adrien whispered.

Felix scoffed. “You’re saying she _isn’t_ remarkable?”

“No, I’m saying _you_ don’t think _anyone’s_ remarkable.” 

“Marinette, are you thirsty?” He suddenly asked, turning to the petite girl.

“Hm?”

“Thought so.” Adrien mumbled.

“We have tea, coffee, anything you’d like.” Felix said, albeit through gritted teeth. 

“Jeez, why don’t you just propose to her now?” His brother commented.

“I’ll kill you. No one would find your body.”

“Tea would be great, actually.” Marinette replied, regaining their attention.

“Wonderful. Since your Adrien’s guest, I’m sure he would _love_ to go fetch it for you.”

“What, so you want to be alone with her now? I’ve seen enough movies to know where this goes, Fe.” 

Felix growled, low enough for Marinette not to hear, and shoved Adrien as subtly as possible towards the door. 

His brother stumbled, laughing the whole way, and stuck his tongue out at Felix before going to find the chef. At least he listened.

A stack of books thumped on the table next to him- when did she find so many books? -and Marinette let herself sink into the chair next to him. 

“This library is incredible. I can’t believe you own it.” She remarked.

Felix hummed, eyeing the titles of her books. “Yes, but it’s far from complete. I still find myself visiting the local library for new shipments every now and then.”

“Well, yeah.” Her lips quirked up in another adorable smile. “There’s always going to be new things to learn. You can only have all the books in the world for so long.” 

He chuckled. That was true. 

The fire crackled in front of them. He couldn’t help relating the characteristics of the flames to her- bright, warm, and something that will absolutely burn him if he gets too close.

“Can I ask you a question?” 

_Where have I heard those words before?_ Felix thought wryly, turning to Marinette with a small smile. 

“If you must.” 

She giggled, but then her features shifted into a more serious expression. “What you said earlier.. About your dad bribing you. Was that really a joke?” 

Ah, yes. The comment he made earlier. He knew she’d travel back to that subject at some point. 

Felix closed his book with a sigh. “He does the best that he can to raise us. I can’t fault him for that.” 

That obviously wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear, but it was the truth. And he didn’t want to lie to her more than he was already. 

“And what about your mother?” 

Despite the circumstances, Felix almost laughed. Here they were again, talking about his mother. How did she always manage to cut to the heart of others?

“Gone. Haven’t seen her for almost a year now.” He’d told her as Le Paon that his mother was sick. Therefore, as Felix, playing dumb would be the best option. Besides, Adrien doesn’t know about their mother’s whereabouts so telling Marinette wasn’t exactly a smart plan.

Sadness painted her eyes, a soft sense of grief that showed her heart went out to him. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” But it _will_ be his fault if he can’t get the miraculous.

Marinette opened her mouth to respond when-

“Tea is ready!” Adrien came barreling back through the library doors, a tray of freshly brewed tea in hand. He set it on the table, nearly pushing Marinette’s stack of books over, and passed the small cups of tea around. In other words, he effectively murdered the gentle atmosphere that had settled in the room. 

Felix couldn’t say he minded. If he wasn’t careful, Marinette might coax everything under the sun out of him, Le Paon included. 

~~~~~~

Tikki peered out of Marinette’s bag, watching the small group of teens converse. It was definitely an interesting sight, having Chat Noir, Ladybug, and Le Paon all sitting together comfortably. Of course, none of them knew each other’s identities.. Yet. That was the problem. What would happen when the secrets came out? Adrien and Felix were brothers, for Pete’s sake, and who knows who Hawkmoth might be or why Felix was helping him. She didn’t want her holder to be broken about this.

A flick of blue caught her eye, and she turned to see none other than Duusu staring back at her. Tikki gasped, glancing up at the teens again. They were drinking tea and reading books, distracted. She drew in a breath and shot through Marinette’s purse, zipping to Duusu’s flower pot.

“Tikki!” Duusu beamed. “I thought I felt you at that girl’s house! It’s so nice to see you!”

Tikki shushed her, though a smile graced her lips. It was nice to see Duusu again. 

“Duusu, we have to be quiet. Our chosens are talking just a few feet away.” 

“Speaking of Chosens-” Plagg suddenly interrupted “-Ready to tell us who Nooroo’s chosen is?”

“Plagg!” Tikki thrilled, keeping her voice hushed.

“Hey, Sugar cube.” The god of destruction grinned. 

“Yay! We’re all here!” Duusu cheered.

“Back to the point.” Tikki said. “Duusu, do you know who Hawkmoth is?”

“I know he’s a real stick in the mud.”

“No, she means do you know Hawkmoth’s name?” Plagg sighed.

Duusu laughed. “Wow, it really has been a long time. You think I remember the big guy’s name? I barely know-”

Bubbles forced themselves out of her mouth to cut her off. Plagg and Tikki groaned.

“ _Duusu_..”

How were they going to find out Hawkmoth’s identity if Duusu kept messing around like this? They needed to find out his identity as soon as possible, for the kids’ sake.

“I have an idea!” Duusu suddenly exclaimed. “Let’s play hide and seek!”

Plagg and Tikki shouted their objections, but the kwami was gone, phasing through the flower pot to hide. 

“Do you see what I have to deal with?” Plagg hissed.

Tikki sighed. “Just be patient. She’ll come to her senses eventually and give us the name.”

“You believe that?” 

No.

“We must have faith.”

But what other choice did they have?

~~~~~~

“Bye, Marinette! Thanks for coming over!” Adrien beamed as he opened the door for her.

Marinette smiled back. “Course. I had a great time.” 

She turned to Felix, who was standing next to the stairs again. “Bye, Felix. It was nice talking to you.”

His brother nodded, offering a faint smile as he avoided Adrien’s eyes. “It was nice talking to you too. Are you sure you can find your way home alright?” 

Adrien held back a laugh. How obvious can one person be?

“Yep! See you guys tomorrow!”

The brothers waved her off, and Adrien closed the door behind her. 

As soon as she was gone, A devilish smile spread across his lips. He turned around to see Felix walking off, no doubt retreating to the library. Adrien followed after him, his grin widening with each step. 

“So..” He began, thoroughly enjoying the way Felix tensed at his voice. “When were you gonna tell me that you’re in love with Marinette?”

“I’m _not_ in love with her.” Felix snapped, sending him a glare.

Adrien laughed. “You complimented her, offered her tea, coffee, and ‘anything else she might want’, and practically offered to walk her home just now.”

“It’s called ‘hospitality’.”

“It’s _called_ a crush. And a completely understandable one, too. Marinette’s pretty amazing.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “You’re ridiculous.” 

Adrien hummed. “So you _don’t_ think she’s amazing?”

He hesitated. “..I didn’t say that.” 

“You totally love her.”

“I _admire_ her. There’s a difference.” Felix replied.

“Keep telling yourself that.” Adrien smirked. To be honest, he thought it was nice that Felix was falling for someone. It meant his brother might actually start opening up for a change. He wasn’t lying about Marinette, either. If anyone could chip away at Felix’s stone heart, it would be her.

And Adrien would enjoy teasing him relentlessly until she does.

~~~~~~

Marinette clutched the books she’d borrowed from the Agreste’s library to her chest as she walked home, a frown tugging at the corner of her lips. Spending her afternoon with the boys had been fun, but also.. worrying. She didn’t know they’re mother had disappeared, let alone how distant their father was. Marinette was at their house the entire afternoon and didn’t see Gabriel Agreste not once. What kind of Father doesn’t even greet their children once throughout the day? Exactly how much did he interact with them, if at all?

 _Calm down, Marinette_. She told herself. _You don’t know the whole story. He may have just been really busy today. He’ll probably be home by supper to eat with them like he does every night and ask them about their day and everything will be fi-_

Her thoughts came to a halt when the ground beneath her started to shake.

Marinette tensed, grabbing a nearby streetlamp for balance. Tremors? In France? She didn’t recall earthquakes being common around this area.

The concrete around her split open, cracking like an egg along the streets and sidewalks. Pieces of debri rose into the air, and Marinette felt her stomach twist.

This wasn’t an earthquake.

“Fear not, Paris!” A voice boomed from above the city. Marinette snapped her gaze upwards. “I am Renouveleur, and I have come to refurbish our city streets!”

Her eyes finally landed on a woman, who was standing on a rooftop not far from her. 

“If the government won’t fix our broken roads, then I’ll destroy them so much that they’ll have to make _new_ ones!” The akuma declared. She threw her hands up in the air, causing the broken chunks of cement to rise.

Marinette yelped as she rose with it. Her books slipped from her hands and tumbled to the ground below. She’ll have to find those later.

“Tikki, spots- AH!” Marinette ducked her head to avoid colliding with another piece of cement. She couldn’t transform now. There were too many dangers, and even though the sun was setting, people could clearly see her. The only option now was to maneuver out of the debri and find a hiding place. 

Marinette drew in a deep breath and leapt off the cement. Her skin dug into the pavement as she landed on another chunk, causing her to wince. That was going to leave a mark. 

She was about to jump to another one when her floating debri suddenly dropped. A grunt escaped her lips as her side hit the ground. What happened? Did the magic where off? Was she too heavy for the small piece?

Her eyes turned upwards. The debri overhead was coming down too, all at once.

 _Crap_.

~~~~~~

Felix kept his eyes on his book, ignoring Adrien as much as humanly possible. That’s the second time _that day_ that someone claimed he loved Marinette. Where were people getting these ideas from?

He turned to the bedroom window with a sigh. It’s not that he didn’t like her or anything. It’s just that love can be messy. Take his Father, for example. He’s so in love with their mother that he was willing to become a terrorist just to get her back. Something that can swallow you whole like that is dangerous. Besides, the chances of Marinette liking him back were next to none. 

Felix tisked. He couldn’t believe he was actually thinking about this! Marinette was just a sweet girl that he knew. There was nothing between them, and that’s how things would stay. 

He was about to stand up to find a better book to read when a rumbling reached his ears. 

Felix and Adrien both sat up and exchanged glances. They rushed over to the window, only to find chunks of debri littering the air a few blocks down.

“What on earth?” Adrien said, pressing up against the window.

 _So that’s why I didn’t see Nathalie earlier._ Felix thought. 

Then another thought occurred to him, one that seized his heart entirely. That debri was in the direction of Marinette’s house. She just left a few minutes ago on foot. If she got dazed again and wasn’t paying attention..

Felix was bolting out of the room before he could even think things through. Adrien was gone now. How he left so fast or where he went- Felix didn’t know and didn’t care. None of that matters. What _matters_ is that he transforms and finds Marinette before that darned akuma rips her to shreds.

He skidded to a stop outside the front door. The debri in the air was suddenly dropping, piece by piece, then all at once. His heart sank into his stomach.

“Duusu, spread my feathers!” There was no time to panic. The sooner he got to the scene, the sooner he could help her.

Newly dressed as Le Paon, Felix took to the skies. Those nightly runs around Paris weren’t just to scout and see Marinette. He’d also been perfecting his powers, like the minor flight capability his tailcoat provided.

He sailed from rooftop to rooftop. The closer he got, the further he pushed himself to move _faster_. Marinette had probably been in the heat of the battle for a good few minutes now. He knew all too well that a lot can happen in a few mere minutes.

Finally- _finally_ -he reached blocked that the akuma was on, and it was exactly as he feared.

The pieces of debri had risen up again, and there, in the middle of the broken up road, Marinette stood, jumping for chunk to chunk to avoid getting hit. With such high levels of anxiety, she had to be having a panic attack and-

A large piece of cement bee-lined for her position, but before Le Paon could react, Marinette jumped off of her current chunk of pavement, _ricocheted_ off another chunk, and _flipped over the large piece of cement_. Not only that, she also made a perfect landing on another piece of debri that had been _moving_ while she landed.

It was.. unexpectedly impressive. Wasn’t Marinette supposed to be clumsy? He swore she was clumsy any other time they met.

The akuma’s giddy laughter brought him back to reality. Le Paon surged forward, practically floating over the block, and stopped next to his assigned partner.

“What the heck do you think you’re doing?” He bit off, leaning over a tad to catch his breath.

The woman huffed. “What does it _look_ like I’m doing? I’m wrecking the roads so the city can rebuild them!”

“You’re _also_ giving the heroes the perfect cover!” He argued.

She scoffed. “I haven’t seen a single soul on these streets yet.”

“There’s a civilian girl _right there_!” Le Paon yelled, throwing a hand towards the street.

“What girl?” 

The two looked down at the rubble below, but the street was empty.

“I don’t _see_ a girl.” The akuma snarked.

Le Paon didn’t respond. He was too busy searching the streets for Marinette. He’d _just_ seen her! Where did she go? Did she get crushed? Did she escape? _Please_ let it be the later.

“You know, when your bosses said ‘hit the road’, I don’t think this is what they meant.”

Le Paon whirled around, coming face to face with Chat Noir.

“Oh~ so, _you’re_ the kitten Hawkmoth kept blabbing about.” The akuma sneered. “What are you gonna do? Spit a hairball at me?” 

Chat Noir smirked and took out his baton. “Something like that.” 

Le Paon lunged for the black-clad hero, who retaliated by jumping back and extending his staff. Le Paon let his fans slide from his sleeves and into his hands, easily fanning them out.

“It doesn’t have to be this way.” He grit. “You and Ladybug could easily hand over your miraculous, and this would all be over.”

Chat Noir scoffed. “Listen, Feathers, I know you tricked LB, but I won’t be fooled so easily.”

“Who says he tricked me?”

Le Paon scowled as Ladybug landed between them. Of course she wouldn’t be far behind that alley cat. Now the playing field was leveled two-to-two, and that made things much more difficult for him. 

“My Lady! Did I say tricked? I-I meant ticked! You know cause he ticked you off after..the fight?” Chat fumbled, pulling a sheepish smile.

The spotted heroine rolled her eyes, the first gesture Le Paon could actually agree with. “Let’s just focus on the akuma, hm?”

“Our request is simple.” Le Paon cut in. “All we need is the miraculous-”

“And for the potholes to be fixed!” The akuma shouted behind him.

“..and for the potholes to be fixed. Then you’ll never hear from us again.”

He expected her to scoff like her partner, or sneer at him and make a biting remark, but that didn’t happen. Quite the contrary. _Nothing_ happened. She just stood there, not speaking, not attacking. He couldn’t see her face because she refused to look at him, but he could feel her unease, the conflict of love and duty and grief twisting through her stomach. 

Guilt. She was feeling guilty. But why? 

“We’ll never give up our miraculous!” Chat Noir declared. 

“Oh, really?” The akuma replied. “Then I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.” 

She raised her hands into the air, which in turn caused the debri to float higher. Then she dropped her hands, and the debri came flying down. 

Ladybug and Chat Noir spun their weapons to create individual shields for themselves, while Le Paon had to duck for cover to avoid being shredded.

“Watch it!” He hissed. “You have another partner here who can’t magically avoid your artificial meteor shower!” 

The akuma rolled her eyes. “Do you have to complain about _everything_? Watch for civilians, get the heroes, aim your fire- where did Hawkmoth even _get_ you from?” 

Le Paon went to snap back, but Chat Noir attacked him before he could.

The rest of the battle was about as irritating as it started. Renouveleur- as she later proclaimed herself -wouldn’t follow his orders. They ended up fighting at the drop of a hat, and Le Paon got hit with at least half of her attacks because of it. By the time Ladybug called her lucky charm- a roll of duct tape -He was covered in scrapes and bruises. It was a wonder his suit hadn’t been torn to shreds by that point. He was almost grateful when Ladybug finally used that darned yo-yo to snatch the Renouveleur’s akumatized map from her belt. 

Le Paon sighed, dropping off the roof before she finished purifying it. The last thing he needed was to be alone with those two. 

Miniature Ladybugs washed over the city, taking his injuries and the destruction he’d caused with them. If he remembered correctly, the miraculous cure also put everyone in their original places before the attack. 

Felix slipped through a few alleys to avoid detection from the heroes and scanned the street for a small girl with pigtails. 

Her books were still sprawled across the sidewalk, but she herself hadn’t returned. He went from alley to alley trying to find her, to at least check on her and make sure she was alright, but no luck. Marinette was just.. Gone.

His miraculous beeped a warning, forcing Felix to reluctantly start the run home. There shouldn’t be anything to worry about, right? The miraculous cure always brought everyone back safely, and after that display of agility during the attack, Marinette was sure to be just fine. He could go home, forget about the whole incident, and see her at school tomorrow. That was the logical thing to do in this situation. Go home, and under no circumstances will he visit her a second time. 

-

 _Aaand I have a problem_. Le Paon mentally sighed as he landed on Marinette’s balcony that evening. She was probably fine, and even if she wasn’t, he’s sure she wouldn’t want Paris’ supervillain coming to check on her! Let’s not even talk about his Father’s thoughts on this situation, or the fact that he didn’t know about these visits. 

Where did all of his prided discipline go? Why couldn’t Felix enjoy a nice book in peace anymore without her popping up in his mind every five minutes? When did he become so obsessed? More importantly, how did he make it stop?

A light knock was all it took for the trapdoor to swing open.

“Le Paon.” Marinette gasped. “I didn’t expect you to come back.” 

He cleared his throat. “Uh- yes -well- I saw you at the akuma attack and wanted to make sure you were alright.”

_Smooth, Agreste._

A smile graced her lips anyway. “Why don’t you come inside?”

Le Paon stiffened. “I-Inside? As in, ‘inside your _house_ ’ inside?”

She giggled. “If that’s okay with you.” 

This girl was really inviting a terrorist into her home. How did her parents raise such a careless daughter?

“I..guess it is.” 

He climbed through the trapdoor, dropping down into a small room covered in pink.

“Sorry about the mess. I tend to stop thinking about cleaning when I’m working on my projects.” 

Various objects littered the floor below- scraps of fabric, sewing tools, strings. The only thing remotely clean was the cream-colored chaise in the corner, and it had a small pile of clothes on it. 

Her room. She’d not only invited him into her house, but her _room_. Did this girl have a death wish?

Nevertheless, he had to admit it felt nice settling into her large, light pink bean bag chair. “Which project are you working on?” 

Marinette lit up like a Christmas tree towards the questions and happily drew his attention to her mannequin. The dress he’d seen a week ago was still wrapped around it, except some of the edges were more defined and a few of the ruffles were more puffed up. 

“It’s just something I’ve been playing with over the last few weeks, but I think it’s turning out wonderfully so far.”

“I agree. It looks like you’ve put a lot of effort into it.”

“Oh, I have.” She nodded. “I can’t wait to finish it.”

Le Paon smiled. “I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished.”

In hindsight, he probably should have thought about who he was supposed to be posing as before he unwittingly invited himself to come back to her house a _third_ time. 

Marinette gave him a surprised look. “Really? You’re gonna come back?”

Le Paon hesitated. “Uh..”

_Say no. You know you can’t come back here again or Father’s gonna find out. Even if he doesn’t find out, spending time with her as Le Paon is a bad idea. The worst idea, actually. Coming back here as Le Paon would be the worst idea in the history of worst ideas. SAY NO._

“Sure. If you don’t mind, that is.” 

_…Why am I like this?_

Marinette pulled a warm smile. “Of course I don’t. Come over whenever you want.” 

Felix held back a groan. If that didn’t seal his fate right then..

“That’s very generous of you. I appreciate it.”

She breathed out a chuckled, staring at him with a gentleness that filled him with something he couldn’t quite place. 

“Would you like something to eat? We have cookies downstairs.” She offered.

“Oh, thank you, but I’m fine.” He politely declined. 

“Is there anything you do want? It’s no trouble to make something, I promise.”

Le Paon thought for a moment. “Would tea be alright?” 

At least then she could enjoy some herself.

Marinette brightened. “Perfect! I’ll go get some.”

He nodded, barely catching himself from offering to go help. In this costume, one can imagine her parents wouldn’t exactly be thrilled that he was helping her make tea. 

She climbed down the second trapdoor, leaving him to wonder how much trouble he’d gotten himself into. Talking with her as Le Paon was bad enough, but now he was in her house and having _tea_ with her. What’s next? They’d prance around the city together and go for ice cream?

Felix sighed. As nice as this was, it couldn’t last. Staying here would only hurt both of them, and he didn’t want that. After tonight, he would go home and never come back. 

Well, after tonight and whenever he comes to see her finished dress. He’ll leave after he knows she’s okay, visit to see her finished dress, and then never come back.

Of course, he’d have to visit between now and then to figure out when the dress will be finished. So he’ll finish tonight, come back later to find out when the dress will be done, come back _again_ when it _is_ done, and _then_ never return.

Yes, it’s the perfect plan.

And if it ever needs to be altered because of certain circumstances, well.. Sometimes that’s just life, right?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma admit, this is one of my favorite chapters lol

Marinette shivered as the chill of the ice rink crawled up her legs and arms. The brown fur of her jacket clung to her pink mittens as she pulled it tighter around her waist.

“Remind me why we’re here again?” She asked Alya through chattering teeth. She knew the staff needed to keep the room cold for the ice, but this was a bit overkill, in her opinion.

“To ice skate! Why else would we be here?” Alya said, tapping away on her phone with a grin.

Marinette’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve never wanted to go ice skating in your life. Why are we _really_ here?”

Was there an event she didn’t know about? Maybe the ice rink was giving away Ladybug merch? 

“Come on, Marinette. Can’t we just have some girl time together?”

“Alya, Nino’s right over there.” Marinette replied, throwing her thumb over her shoulder to emphasize the dj currently on the bench tying his ice skates. 

“And so’s half the class.” She added, gesturing to the ice rink where Juleka and Rose were skating together, along with Mylene and Ivan. Alex would occasionally pass by in a blurr. Apparently, when you’ve roller bladed for so long, learning to ice skate isn’t much of a challenge. 

Alya held up her hands defensively. “Okay, so I invited a few extra people. Is that so wrong?”

Marinette was about to answer when she caught a glimpse of Alya’s screen, seeing exactly _who_ the brunette had been texting this whole time.

“Tell me you didn’t.”

“Hm? Didn’t what?” Her best friend asked innocently, swiftly pulling the phone behind her back.

Marinette groaned, putting her hands over her face. “Alya, I _told_ you that there’s nothing between me and Felix!”

“Who said anything about Felix?”

She pulled her hands down enough to give Alya a pointed look. “How far out are they?”

“…ten minutes.”

“ _Alya_!”

“So I asked Adrien and Felix to come skate with us!” Alya finally admitted, crossing her arms. “As long as you don’t have feelings for each other, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Marinette sighed. They both knew that her feelings towards Felix didn’t matter. Alya was going to create problems no matter what.

“How did you even get them to come? Isn’t Adrien’s schedule usually packed?” 

“Usually, but he said he’d make room. Adrien was so excited about it that he actually asked to bring Felix before I could.” Alya explained casually.

So, Adrien’s the one that convinced Felix to come? That was a surprise. She hoped he didn’t force him into it or anything. Skating with them wouldn’t be fun if Felix wasn’t enjoying himself too. 

“I guess if Adrien’s so excited..” She trailed off.

Alya clapped her hands together. “Girl, this is going to be so much fun! Try to aim for Felix as much as possible when you fall.”

Marinette scoffed, ignoring the heat that rushed to her cheeks. “ _When_ she falls”? How did Alya know she was going to fall? What if Ice skating was a secret hobby of hers, and she could glide on the ice without a second thought?

…okay, so she was totally going to fall, but that didn’t mean she could _aim_ for Felix in the process! Even if she could, she wouldn’t! The poor blonde has probably had enough of her already- seeing him at the bakery, convincing him to join the art club, going to his _house_. Heck, she practically tripped into him at school on a daily basis. 

“Hey, get that nervous look off your face.” Alya ordered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Everything is going to go perfectly according to plan.”

“Plan?” Marinette repeated. “You had a _plan_ for this?”

“Okay, enough talk. Let’s get you out on the ice. You need to get a little used to it before the boys get here.” Alya said, avoiding Marinette’s question.

Before she could argue, Alya pushed her forward, out onto the rink. Marinette flailed her arms, barely managing to catch the side of the wall. 

Ice skating. Out of everything she could have picked, Alya chose ice skating. Why not get together at the park? Or take a trip to the zoo? Why did she have to choose an activity that required balance and grace- two things Marinette _didn’t_ have. If Alya wanted her and Felix together, the least she could have done was help Marinette look more dignified.

She hobbled around the ice rink, trying to make it to the exit before the boys got there. Alya was behind her, urging her on, so she couldn’t go backwards. 

As soon as she was close enough, Marinette dove for the exit. Unfortunately, she learned too late that running on ice skates wasn’t the best idea. The blades on her skates tilted, and Marinette threw her arms up with a yelp as she surged forward. 

She was only too grateful when a pair of arms wrapped around her to stop her fall.

“I’m starting to think you’re doing this on purpose.” A man chuckled, drawing her eyes upwards.

“Felix! Hey. You guys are here. Right now.” 

“Hey, Marinette.” Adrien greeted, giving her a wave. “It looks like we made it just in time.”

“Yeah, uh.. Thanks.” Marinette said awkwardly, pushing herself off of Felix. 

Alya came up to them just then. “Hey, boys! I’m glad you could make it!”

She then sent Felix a mischievous smirk. “I see you two are already all over each other.”

Marinette choked, and Felix cleared his throat, both turning a bright red. They hadn’t even been here two minutes yet!

Adrien shared Alya’s smile, unbeknownst to Marinette, and pat Felix on the shoulder. “Let’s go put our skates on.”

“I think that’d be a good idea.” Felix replied, hastily retreating to the bench behind them. Adrien followed after him, leaving the girls alone. 

Marinette shot Alya a glare. “Knock it off.”

Alya failed to hold back a wry grin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m serious, Al. Felix isn’t a people person as it is. I don’t want him to be uncomfortable or he might not want to hang out with us anymore.”

“I see..” Alya nodded thoughtfully. “So you’re saying you _do_ want to hang out with him?”

“Alya, focus!”

Her friend laughed. “Kidding, kidding..sort of. Anyway, I’ll be subtle.”

“Subtle, what? No! Just don’t do anything!” Marinette pleaded.

Alya laughed, as if this was all a game, and it only worried her more. How far was her friend willing to go to see whatever it was she wanted to see happen?

The boys returned a few minutes later, skates on. 

“So.. How does this work?” Felix asked as they all hobbled back out onto the ice.

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. “Have you never seen an ice rink before?”

“I’ve watched a few competitions on tv.” Felix said, slightly defensive. “I’m a bookworm. Sue me.”

She snorted. “Well, this is my first time skating too. I’m not sure there are instructions for it. You just kind of.. Glide on the ice? I don’t know..”

Felix frowned and looked down at his skates. “Sounds easy enough..”

“Doesn’t it?” Alya cut in, leaning on one of Marinette’s shoulder. “As long as you have good balance, ice skating’s a piece of cake. Right, Mari?”

At the end of the sentence, Alya nudged her again, and, for the second time, Marinette found herself falling into Felix. 

He grabbed onto her, but the ice underneath wasn’t as stable as the carpet was earlier. They both slipped from the momentum, and she heard a grunt escape him when his back hit the wall.

“Oh my gosh, are you two okay? I’m _so_ sorry!” Alya cried, feigning concern as they fumbled to stand back up. 

“I’m so sorry for this.” Marinette muttered.

“Is she always this pushy?” He mumbled back.

“Wait, I think Rose is calling me. I’ll be _right_ back!” Alya excused, despite knowing no one had called out to her.

The brunette skated away, to Marinette’s relief.

_Subtle, my behind._

“She means well I swear.” Marinette said apologetically as she balanced herself with the ice rink’s walls.

“What is she trying to do?” He asked, eyeing the brunette as she left.

“Uh..” How to answer this without making things awkward? 

“Who knows? It’s Alya.”

He tilted his head in a nod. “True.”

They stood there for a moment, not quite sure what to do. Marinette would’ve started skating, but she honestly didn’t trust herself to not fall again. Felix didn’t seem confident either, if his death grip on the wall was any indication.

“Marinette?”

Her heart skipped a beat.

“Hm?”

His gaze flicked from her to his feet. “I haven’t done this before, and frankly, I’m not very good at it.”

“…Okay?” Where was he going with this?

“It goes without saying that you’re not skilled at this, either.”

Marinette pushed aside her agitation towards the comment in favor of reason. What he said wasn’t wrong.

“And?” 

He caught her gaze again, and something akin to nervousness laced his tone as he said, “Let’s brace each other.”

Marinette frowned. “Brace each other?” 

“Exactly.” Felix shifted on the ice. “We’d simply be holding onto each other to stay balanced.”

Her eyes widened, though she tried not to overreact. Holding onto each other how? Were they going to hold hands or just hold onto each other’s shoulders? 

“Won’t you be uncomfortable?” She asked.

He shrugged. “Not if it’s you.”

Marinette flushed, which caused Felix to blush too. 

“I-I’m sorry, that came out wrong.”

“No, no, it’s..” She drew in a small breath to calm herself. “You said hold onto each other? Like this?”

Carefully, She slipped her hand into his, fighting down the butterflies in her stomach. They weren’t actually holding hands. Well- they _were_ , but it didn’t _mean_ anything. This was just two friends trying to help each other survive an afternoon of ice skating. No more, no less.

Felix squeezed her hand back, not helping her heart in any way. “Yes, that should work.”

“O-okay. Good.” 

With one acting as a pillar for the other, they had the courage to push off of the wall. Marinette pulled on his hand to keep her steady, but in doing so, threw Felix off balance. He pulled on her as well, which ended up tugging Marinette against his shoulder. 

Marinette yelped, snaking her other arm around Felix’s to keep them from yanking each other around. 

“I’m not sure this plan is working.” She thought aloud, holding back a smile. They probably looked ridiculous to the other customers.

The soft fabric of Felix’s coat brushed her cheek as his shoulders shook from his laugh. “Well, it’s sort of working. We haven’t fallen yet.”

Marinette nodded in agreement. “True.”

They kept going, and Marinette tried to ignore how close They were, or how her heart refused to keep calm. It’s like Alya said: as long as she doesn’t have any feelings for Felix, it shouldn’t be a problem.

So why was it a problem?

~~~~~~

Felix barely contained his grin as he loosened the laces on his ice skates. Not only had he spent most of last night with Marinette as Le Paon- the tea was delightful. They even played a few games of chess! -He also got to spend the morning ice skating with her. The faint scent of vanilla from her clinging to him still lingered on his coat after they left the rink, and he made a mental note to procrastinate cleaning his coat for as long as he could.

“You look like you had fun.” Adrien commented, sitting down next to him.

Felix forced a neutral expression. “Why wouldn’t I have fun?”

His brother snorted. “Um, because you’re you. Don’t act like Marinette holding onto you isn’t the only reason you’re happy.”

Felix snapped up and smacked Adrien in the shoulder. 

“Shh! What are you thinking?” He hissed, glancing around the rink. Thankfully, Marinette was absorbed in her conversation with Alya. 

“What if she heard you?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter, right?” Adrien replied, an aggravating smirk tugging at his lips. “You said you didn’t love her. So what I say doesn’t matter.”

“No, but if Marinette heard you, she would be mislead. Save your antics for the ride home.” Felix said, slipping off his skates and reaching for his shoes.

“Man, you’re pretty deep in denial, huh?” 

He resisted the urge to growl. Getting riled up would only “prove him right”. “I’m not in denial. I’m simply stating the facts. I do not love Marinette, nor does she love me and nothing will ever happen between us.”

“That’s exactly what someone in denial would say.”

“ _Adrien_ -”

“Hey, Agrestes!” Alya suddenly called, cutting their conversation short. Felix had never been happier getting interrupted.

The brunette walked over to them, with Marinette nervously following after her. “We’re thinking of going to the park. Do you guys want to come?”

Felix went to decline- they barely fit ice skating into their schedule as it was -when Adrien practically pushed him out of the way.

“We’d love to go!” His brother grinned.

Alya clasped her hands together. “Perfect! We’ll meet up outside.”

Felix pushed Adrien back as the girls walked away and glared at him. “What was that? Gorilla’s picking us up in five minutes for your shoot. We can’t go to the park.”

“Aw, come on, Fe. Don’t you want to spend more time with Marinette?” Adrien said lightheartedly.

“I don’t think you understand. We’re _leaving_. Whether I want to spend time with Marinette or not is irrelevant.” He replied curtly.

“So that’s a ‘yes’ then?”

Felix scoffed, but Adrien stood. 

“I’ll send Gorilla a text to give us an extra half hour. It’ll be fine.” He remarked, waving his hand as if to wave off the subject.

Felix swiftly tied his black dress shoes and followed his brother outside to continue arguing. After today’s shoot, they were going to be prepped for a charity ball, and later that night, Adrien needed to try on the outfits for the next fashion show to get them adjusted. Telling Gorilla to “give them an extra thirty minutes” wasn’t going to work.

He stepped outside, where Adrien was gingerly talking with the girls, but before he could take his brother aside, Marinette called out to him.

“Felix! Are you sure you’re okay going to the park with us? You didn’t seem too excited about it earlier.” She asked, offering him a small, yet understanding smile.

Felix sighed. It was only too tempting to forget about their schedule and enjoy a day with Marinette.

“About the park-”

Screams cut his apology short, and the group looked up to see people fleeing the streets. An odd, blue substance was covering the streets, spreading onto the buildings and street lamps, but not the cars or civilians. 

“I thought Ice skating was over.” Adrien quipped.

Felix rolled his eyes at the joke, but ignored it for the time being. If an akuma was out, that meant Chat Noir and Ladybug would be there too. He needed to find a place to transform.

“Oh! An akuma! I need to go get my phone!” Alya squealed, searching through her purse. “Ugh- I must have left in the lockers! Be right back.”

She darted inside the building, and Marinette started inching after her. “I should- uh -go check on her and make sure she doesn’t get hurt.”

“We should all go in to take cover.” Felix advised, grabbing Adrien by the wrist so he couldn’t slip away. 

They all ran inside, closing the door just before the frost hit. Within seconds, the building was layered in a thick sheet of ice. Adrien tried opening the door again out of curiosity, but to no avail. They were stuck. If that wasn’t bad enough, the temperature dropped as soon as the wave of ice passed them, reminding Felix of their walk-in freezer at the mansion.

“Go find Alya.” He said to Marinette, his breath coming out in puffs of white now. “I’ll search the ice rink for any extra coats or blankets.”

Marinette nodded and ran off, while Felix and Adrien separated to search the rink. Of course, once the others were out of sight, Felix stopped searching to transform. He felt bad abandoning Marinette and Adrien, but if he could get the miraculous, the akuma would be recalled, and they would be safe.

“Duusu, spread my feathers!”

Magic wrapped around him, and he found himself grateful for the feathers decorating his tail coat and gloves. They kept him warm and comfortable.

Carefully, Le Paon crept around the building, trying to find an exit. The doors were his first choice, but Adrien had proven earlier that that was no longer an option. There weren’t any windows either. 

“What to do.. What to do..” He muttered to himself. Things were getting colder by the second. If he didn’t get out and retrieve the miraculous soon, Paris might freeze to death.

A gust of wind sent a shiver down his spine, and he turned to find the source. If there was a draft, then there was a hole somewhere. Maybe he could fit through it. 

The draft led him to a collapsed hole in the wall of the Janitor’s closet. It was a bit random in Le Paon’s opinion, but whatever helped him escape. The ice probably weakened the building’s structure or something, and it caved in on itself.

Le Paon climbed through the hole, immediately regretting it as the wind chill hit him outside. He thought the temperature inside was bad, but this was numbing. The cold seeped into his very bones. Father was going to get an earful if he got sick.

Once Le Paon made it to the rooftops, he grit his teeth and started sprinting towards the direction the ice had come from. Hopefully, this akuma would have enough reason and control over his powers to take things down a notch. (And by that, he meant turn the heat _up_ a good few notches.)

Le Paon found the akuma a few minutes later at the top of the Eiffel Tower, watching over the city with a chilling smile. 

“So, who are you supposed to be?” He asked as he stopped next to them.

The akuma merely spared him a glance. “You may call me ‘Blizzard’.”

Le Paon clicked his tongue. “Blizzard? You couldn’t come up with anything better than that?” 

Blizzard looked at him fully then, a deep scowl wrinkling his hard features. “ _I_ didn’t choose it. _Hawkmoth_ did.” 

“Excuses, Excuses.” 

Blizzard scoffed. “Are _you_ the partner Hawkmoth told me about?”

He nodded. “You can call me ‘Le Paon’, and if you want my help, you’re going to have to turn up the heat.”

“Yeah.. no can do. My powers work best in the cold, and it helps slow the heroes down. You’re just going to have to suck it up, bird boy.” 

Le Paon resisted the urge to snap at him. They needed to work together, after all, and Blizzard’s plan was a decent one. Ladybug and Chat Noir _would_ be inconvenienced by the cold, and though Le Paon himself would be put at a disadvantage as well, at least Blizzard had the upper hand. 

As if on queue, a yo-yo wrapped around the beam that Blizzard and Le Paon were standing on. Ladybug was seen swinging up the front of the Eiffel Tower, while Cat Noir was slowly making his way up the other side. This time, however, something was different about their costumes. Ladybug had a silver, hectagon pattern covering her suit, along with some crystal-like accessories and an ice crown. Cat Noir didn’t have the hectagon pattern, but he had the crystal-like accessories. On top of that, they both had ice skates.

..What?

“Th-they don’t look like they’re.. _slowing down_ to m-me.” Le Paon commented, his teeth chattering at this point. 

Blizzard tisked and shifted into a fighting stance. “Just shut up and be useful.” 

Le Paon bit back a _“That’s my line”_ and shifted into a fighting stance as well. Ladybug and Chat Noir were on them in an instant. Chat Noir used his staff to close the gap between them and aimed for Blizzard, while Ladybug drew her yo-yo back to attack Le Paon. 

Both parties split up, Blizzard falling down the tower, and Le Paon opting to climb higher. As he neared the top, Le Paon noticed Blizzard using his right glove to create icicles and ramps along the tower’s edge. It was a nice strategy, but flawed. Chat Noir was following him easily as Blizzard made a clear pathway behind him.

Le Paon stopped at the top of the tower. Naturally, Ladybug did the same. With no where else to run, the two lunged for each other. Le Paon used his fan to try to cut her yo-yo and trap her up there, but the darn thing seemed to be indestructible. So, he tried the next best thing. When she threw her yo-yo at him again, Le Paon caught the end of it.

He smirked when her eyes widened in surprise. Before she could recover, he started circling her with the end of the yo-yo, wrapping it around her body to tie her up. Unfortunately, he underestimated her quick-thinking. 

Ladybug threw herself backwards, effectively yanking the end of her yo-yo out of his hands. That’s all it took for her to get free. A simple flick of the wrist brought the yo-yo swinging back around her to her hand. She threw the yo-yo at him again, and he barely missed it as he flipped backwards into the air. 

Le Paon’s feet landed on the railing, but the frost covering the tower didn’t hold him as well as he’d hoped it would. Le Paon felt his feet slip out from underneath him, and the next thing he knew, he was falling off of the Eiffel Tower. 

Le Paon struggled in the air, trying to grab onto something- a hatch, a loose wire, _anything_. The wind rushed through his ears, so cold it pricked like needles across his skin. He tried to activate his hovering ability, but it only slowed his fall a bit, not enough to help. Blizzard was too preoccupied with Chat Noir. Hawkmoth was at the mansion. 

The ground grew beneath him, and Le Paon started to panic. His miraculous protected him from most harm, but a fall like this wouldn’t be pretty. He needed to stop. How could he stop? What else could he do? What-

Something wrapped around his left ankle, and, without warning, he came to a jerking halt. 

Le Paon sharply inhaled, fighting down the pain as he started to swing back and forth. Whatever he felt now was at least better than smashing into the pavement below. 

He looked up to see Ladybug holding her yo-yo with a death grip and staring back down at him. Was it him or did she look..worried? Why would she look worried? On top of that, why would she save him? Weren’t they supposed to be enemies?

The worry faded before he could find an answer, and she started pulling back and forth on the yo-yo. Le Paon felt himself swaying more and more with each pull. He didn’t understand what she was doing until a particularly hard pull sent him soaring into the center of the Eiffel Tower, right in front of Blizzard.

There was a split second of shock between the two before they collided. Blizzard had been in the middle of freezing a path, causing his glove to cover them in ice when they crashed. Le Paon thrashed around as much as he could, but it was no use. They were frozen together.

“ _Unfreeze_ it.” Le Paon hissed.

“I _can’t_. That’s not how my power works.” Blizzard bit back.

Chat Noir was already standing next to them, a triumphant grin spreading across his lips. 

“You’ve done it again, M’Lady.” He called to the spotted hero above.

Ladybug dropped down next to him, hooking her yo-yo to her side. “All in a day’s work, Kitty.” 

“Now, how do we get the glove out of the ice?” 

She pulled out a spotted ice pick and hammer- who knows when she had time to call those -and started chipping away at the ice. Blizzard tried to create more ice as a makeshift shield, but without mobility, his powers were useless. Ladybug plucked the glove off of his hand after a few minutes of picking and easily tore it in half. The butterfly came fluttering out, and she wasted no time cleansing it. 

A teenage boy was left in the ice, shivering and confused.

“W-where am I?” 

The heroes offered him a sympathetic smile.

“You were akumatized, but you’re safe now.” Ladybug said softly. 

The boy seemed panicked at the news. “C-Can you get me o-out? It’s c-c-cold.”

Le Paon tensed as Ladybug cast the miraculous cure, readying himself. The ice melted away, and while Chat Noir caught the boy before he could fall, Le Paon made sure Ladybug didn’t grab him. He swung his fan at her, causing her to jump back. Once he started falling again, Le Paon used his hover ability to land on another platform below. With that, he darted towards the other side of the city to find a hiding place and detransform. Ladybug and Chat Noir may have won this fight, but this wasn’t the end. His Father would make sure of it.

~~~~~~

Marinette slipped back into the ice rink as quietly as possible. Hopefully the others hadn’t worried too much. She could only imagine what Felix and Alya did once they realized she wasn’t there. How was she going to explain that away? 

She was lucky the air vents hadn’t been sealed up like the rest of the building. Otherwise, Chat Noir would have had to fight alone today. Those cookies she found were helpful, too, though Tikki still hadn’t fully explained where they came from. The note that was with the miniature box of treats was signed by a “Master”. Who could that be?

 _“He’ll reveal himself to you when the time is right.”_ Was all her kwami had said, only deepening her curiosity. How did this man know about the miraculous? Why couldn’t she meet him now? When would the ‘right time’ be?

“Marinette! There you are!” 

Her thoughts were brought back to the present when Alya called out her name. She flashed a smile, but it faded when she saw Alya wasn’t alone.

“When did Nino get here?” She asked, noting how close they were and the fact that Alya’s arm was wrapped around Nino’s.

“He never left! Apparently, he forgot his headphones in the locker. When I came back to get my phone, we bumped into each other and, since I couldn’t find you guys, we started talking.” Alya explained.

“Oh.. That’s an interesting coincidence.” 

“I know right!” Nino smiled. “Turns out, we actually have a lot in common.” 

“Huh.. Well, I’m happy it worked out.” Marinette said, her smile reappearing. Maybe this meant Alya wouldn’t question her absence?

She should’ve known she wouldn’t be _that_ lucky.

“Thanks, girl. Now, where were you off to? You and Felix were both gone you know.” A familiar spark came to Alya’s eyes. Marinette knew what she was implying.

She let out a nervous laugh. “R-really? That’s crazy. I mean, we definitely weren’t together, but it’s totally weird we were both gone.”

Alya hummed, obviously not believing a word she said, which was a bit ironic because, for once, Marinette _wasn’t_ lying. She and Felix weren’t together during the attack, and it _was_ weird that he disappeared. Where did he go? Actually, where was he now? She hadn’t seen Adrien or Felix since she got there.

“Wait, where _are_ the boys?” She asked, leaning around Alya and Nino to somewhat look for them.

Alya playfully rolled her eyes. “Oh, sure. Don’t act like you don’t know.” 

“No, seriously, I-”

“Yo, Nino! What are you doing here?” A voice suddenly piped up. 

The trio turned to see Adrien making his way through the bleachers towards them.

“Yo, dude! I accidentally got stuck in the ice rink with you guys.” Nino greeted, separating from Alya to talk with Adrien. Alya appeared to be put off by the action, but didn’t say anything. 

“Wow, really? Small world.” Adrien chuckled, bumping his fist with Nino’s once they got close enough.

Now all that’s left was..

“What’s all of the commotion about?” 

Marinette nearly jumped out of her own skin when Felix spoke up behind her. When did he walk into the room? How did she not notice him before-hand?

“Nino was apparently in the rink with us.” Alya supplied. “Where were you, though?”

Felix hesitated. “Ah.. I was.. searching for blankets. I never found any, though.” 

Alya only hummed again, sending Marinette a smirk.

Marinette just rolled her eyes, but before she could respond, Adrien spoke again.

“Are we still going to the park?” 

Alya laughed. “Uh- _duh_. Of course we’re still going to the park.”

“ _If_ you guys want to.” Marinette added, glancing at Felix. 

Felix sighed. “Actually, we have to-” 

A car horn interrupted him, and Adrien groaned.

“We have to go to a photo shoot.” He finished apologetically.

Disappointment leaked into Marinette’s stomach at the fact that they couldn’t come, but she smiled anyway. “That’s okay. Maybe another time.” 

Felix seemed to perk up at that. “Yes, perhaps. We’ll see you at school.”

Marinette nodded, storing the words in her heart as a small hope. He hadn’t exactly promised or anything, but the fact that he didn’t flat out refuse in the first place was enough for her.

“See you at school.” 

~~~~~~

Hawkmoth threw his cane against the wall with a rageful cry. His akuma failed _again_ , and he was no closer to getting the miraculous than when he started. 

“This isn’t working!” He yelled to the empty dome. At this rate, Emily would never be cured!

“Perhaps it’s time to change partners.” Nathalie suggested from behind him. “Felix is only a boy, after all. Giving him the Peacock miraculous may have been more than he could handle.” 

“No, no, Felix isn’t the problem. It’s Ladybug.” He scowled. “We need to find a weakness, something we can use against her.” 

“Against Ladybug, sir?” 

Hawkmoth nodded, a sinister smile crawling onto his lips. 

“I think it’s time to change tactics.”


	8. Chapter 8

“‘Change tactics’? What do you mean?” Felix asked, sparing Nathalie a glance. She seemed to be in a bitter mood that evening, more so than usual. 

“Just that.” Gabriel said, regaining his attention. “Ladybug is too cunning to challenge her head on. We must come up with another strategy. One that under-goes her suspicions and exploits her weaknesses.”

Felix frowned. Does Ladybug even _have_ a weakness?

“What do you suggest?”

His Father smiled, and he resisted the urge to flinch. 

“I’m glad you asked.” Gabriel all but purred. “Ladybug, should she activate her Lucky Charm, has a five minute time span before she detransforms. Normally she runs off to hide before that happens, but if you were to follow her long enough..”

“I could discover her identity.” Felix finished.

“Exactly. Knowing Ladybug’s identity would surely give us the advantage.” 

Felix nodded. They could practically waltz into Ladybug’s house and take her miraculous if they knew who she was, and once Ladybug was defeated, Chat Noir wouldn’t be far behind. 

_Speaking of the Alley Cat.._

“How do we get past Chat Noir? I imagine he won’t just let me run off after Ladybug.” He questioned.

Gabriel hummed. “You’ll just have to be subtle, then, won’t you?” 

Felix held back a scoff. That wasn’t the answer he was looking for. Obviously, Father hadn’t thought through this plan completely. 

Nevertheless, Chat Noir would merely act as a bump in the road. He was certain he could find a way around that furball.

“Yes, sir.” Felix said. “I’ll find out her identity as soon as I can.” 

“The sooner the better.” Gabriel remarked, before gesturing for him to leave.

Felix moved to exit the room, but Gabriel spoke again as he opened the door. Something about his tone sent a chill through Felix’s bones, and whether the words were meant to be supportive or not, Felix found himself speed-walking to his room after the door closed.

“I know you won’t disappoint me.” 

~~~~~~

Marinette held her breath, trying to keep steady. Still, the needle trembled between her fingers. She tisked in annoyance. One would think that keeping their hands steady during sowing would get easier after years of practice.

 _Easy.._ She told herself, her tongue slowly slipping past her lips as she tried to concentrate. _Just a bit more to the left and-_

“Ugh!” 

Marinette flinched, causing the needle to poke through the fabric and prick her finger. She hissed, pulling the needle away from her dress and sticking her injured finger into her mouth. 

“Oh, sorry Marinette.” Allegra apologized, sparing her a guilty glance. “I just can’t believe I missed that epic ice fight yesterday! It would have put my blog’s ratings through the roof!” 

“But your ratings are already booming.” Marinette pointed out, wiping her finger on a handkerchief. “Didn’t you get a picture of Ladybug saving Le Paon?”

“Yeah, through frosted glass.” Allegra sighed. “People could easily call it a hoax.. And you’re sure you didn’t get any pictures either?” 

Marinette shook her head. “We got stuck in the ice rink when the frost hit.” 

Allegra rose a brow. “‘We’?”

“Oh, yeah. Alya and I went together, and she invited the Agrestes.” Marinette replied, not thinking much of it. 

She didn’t notice the coy smile that curled onto Allegra’s lips. 

“Felix was there?” 

Marinette nodded, feeling a bit of heat come to her cheeks at the thought of him. By the time they finished ice skating yesterday, Felix and Marinette had practically been hugging each other. It wasn’t until Alya started taking pictures that she actually let go. The fact that she didn’t _want_ to step away from him only worried Marinette more. What if she really _did_ have feelings for Felix? He seemed to enjoy spending time with her, but did she honestly have a chance when it came to love? Marinette was a baker girl, and Felix was the heir to an enormous fashion company. He probably had girls lining up for his affections just like Adrien did, girls who were far prettier than her and a much better fit for someone like him. No, she and Felix could never be together in a romantic sense. Despite what Alya thought, some people just worked better as friends than lovers. This was obviously one of those times.

“Mari, I’ve been thinking..” Allegra spoke again, pulling Marinette from her thoughts. “Why don’t we plan a study date together? I know this really good cafe that serves the best lattes-”

Marinette perked up at the mention of lattes. She loved those heavenly drinks.

“-and it’ll help me be a little more productive while we talk about ‘Birds of a Feather’.”

“I don’t see why not.” She shrugged, sticking her needle into her pin cushion. “Would Saturday work for you?”

Allegra smiled. “Perfect! We can meet at the Laduree cafe around noon for lunch?” 

Marinette stood up. “Can you do four? I need to help out in the bakery first.”

“Four’s good.”

“Great! I need to get going now, if you don’t mind. The suns going down, and I was hoping I could get some sketching in today.”

“Oh, sure, but why do you need to go outside to sketch?” Allegra asked, slipping her purse over her shoulder.

“It helps keep my inspiration flowing.” Marinette shrugged. She then scooped her sketch pencils and erasure into her “art bag” and shook her bag around so she could fit her sketchbook inside as well.

“Huh.. that makes sense. I’ll see you tomorrow at school then!” Allegra said with a wave before flipping open the trap door.

Marinette returned her wave with a smile and took a few extra minutes getting the last of her things together before following her friend down the ladder. 

“Maman, I’m going out to sketch!” She called over her shoulder as she passed the cash register.

“Alright, sweetie! Be back in time for supper!” Sabine called back from the kitchen.

Another wave to Allegra, and she was out the door, strolling down the sidewalk and thinking up a few designs to start when she got to her favorite sketching spot. Hopefully it would take her mind off of the whole Felix business.

~~~~~~

“Alright, a little to left!” 

Adrien moved to the left as told, trying to hold his pose while doing so.

The cameraman frowned and shook his head. “No, no, show me a smile! A smile! Surely you can do better than that, Monsieur Agreste.”

Felix rolled his eyes as Adrien’s smile widened. He was trying too hard to look happy. Of course, Felix wouldn’t be happy either if he had to do multiple photo shoots two days in a row. Maybe he should look up some of the child labor laws in France. This much work on a fourteen year old couldn’t possibly be legal. 

The photographer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, something is still missing! Let’s change the scenery. Maybe that will get your sparkle back.” 

As soon as the camera was off of him, Adrien’s shoulders sagged. He looked exhausted.

“You know, I could always have Father rearrange your schedule for rest.” Felix offered, extending his cup of coffee to him.

Adrien refused the drink, but gave a half smile at the thought of an easier schedule. “Thanks, but you know he’d never agree to that. If I start complaining, he might pull me out of school.” 

“It’s not complaining. It’s called ‘Mental health’.” Felix replied, taking a sip of the coffee himself.

“He’ll still pull me out of school.” 

“Come! Come!” The photographer interrupted, gesturing for the boys to follow him. “We must hurry if we are going to finish!” 

Reluctantly, Felix and Adrien climbed into their car, where they were driven to another park across town. 

-

The Trocadero Gardens. Felix had seen it before in passing, but he’d never visited the park for some reason. Maybe he’d just been too preoccupied with his books.

The car rolled to a stop, and the boys barely had time to unbuckle before being ushered out of the car.

“No time to waste!” The photographer stressed as he set up his camera again.

Felix sent the photographer a glare. This guy was literally getting paid by the hour. What was he rushing for?

Adrien- good little doormat that he was -walked over to stand in front of the fountain as the photographer instructed. 

Felix opted to wander around the park instead. Why watch your little brother waste away in the model industry when you can enjoy a nice afternoon at a new park? It seemed like a waste to stay put, if you asked him.

The park wasn’t all that large, but he found it refreshing anyway. There was a mother taking her baby for a walk in a stroller, a man taking his dog for a walk, and another man who appeared to be feeding pigeons. Felix didn’t recall that being allowed there.

 _Oh, there’s even an artist here._ He thought, seeing a young girl on the concrete steps across from the fountain. She held a pink notebook in her lap, and appeared to be very engrossed in what she was doing as she scribbled across the page. Her tongue was sticking out and everything. The only other person he knew that did that was..

Wait.

“..Marinette?” He said, a bit hesitant at first. When she looked up, though, Felix had no trouble walking over to her.

“Felix? What are you doing here?” She asked, eyes wide with surprise.

Felix smirked. This girl was too adorable.

“Adrien is having a photo shoot.” He answered, gesturing behind him to the cameraman. “You look busy. Should I leave you to your work?” 

“Oh, no, no. It’s- um -I’m just working on some sketches, so..” Marinette stuttered, fiddling with the edges of her notebook.

Felix nodded and mouthed an “ah”.

“Do you mind if I..” He trailed off, motioning towards the spot on the stairs next to her.

Marinette straightened. “Oh! No, of course not. Please.” 

“So what are you working on? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” Felix asked as he sat down.

A smile graced her lips. “Not at all. I wasn’t working on anything specific. Just a few things that popped into my head.”

She tilted the notebook, and Felix leaned closer so he could get a proper view. The first sketch on the left was what looked to be a thin, transparent dress clipped around a solid sheath dress. The picture was only half-way colored, but he could tell she was aiming for a colorful creation. The transparent fabric would be a brilliant rainbow color lined with silver, and the sheath dress would be a deep shade of red to compliment it. The second sketch on the right looked just as promising, though it wasn’t colored yet. It was a casual outfit: Jeans, high-heeled ankle boots, and a blouse with vertical stripes and bell sleeves. 

“They look wonderful.” He commented, lightly touching the edge of the page. “I can’t wait to see them in a fashion show.” 

Marinette pulled the notebook away. “Oh, I don’t know about a show. I mean, I love designing, but these are just doodles, really.”

Felix couldn’t help giving a soft smile. Sometimes it was hard to tell if Marinette was just too humble or too insecure. Maybe a little bit of both. 

“You should come over again sometime.” He hadn’t meant to say out loud, in all honesty, but he certainly wasn’t going to take it back now that he had. Felix rather enjoyed her last visit, more so than he would ever admit out loud.

“Only if you’re comfortable with it.” He added, suddenly getting the urge to look at the ground instead of her. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to talk with him personally, but I’m sure Father would love to see more of your work.”

Marinette smiled bashfully. “That sounds great. Thank you.” 

Felix let out a breath, relieved. “You don’t have to thank me. With talent like that, you were bound to be noticed eventually, whether I introduced you to Father or not.”

An adorable blush bloomed across her freckled cheeks as she turned back to her notebook. How can something so small make him feel so light? 

“Woah, Marinette! You’re here too?” 

The moment was interrupted by none other than Adrien, who either just finished his shoot or convinced the photographer to let him take a break. Judging by his outfit- the usual black shirt and white jacket with jeans -Felix was going to guess the former.

“Oh, hi, Adrien!” Marinette greeted brightly. “I just came here to get some sketching done. How was your shoot?” 

“It was fine.” Adrien replied, leaning over her to get a glimpse of the pages. “Those drawings look awesome! I wish I was that talented.” 

Marinette flushed again and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “T-Thanks, but it’s really just practice..” 

Adrien chuckled. “Believe me, Mari, I could practice for years and not be able to come up with those designs.” 

“I can’t say I disagree.” Felix spoke up. 

He learned too late that that was a mistake.

Adrien turned his gaze to Felix, a predatory-like smile coming to his lips. “No, I’m sure you can’t. How did you two run into each other, again?”

Felix held back a glare. Barely. “If you _must_ know, I stumbled upon her by chance while roaming the park” 

Adrien hummed. “‘By chance while roaming the park’.. I guess that’s convincing enough.” 

Felix scoffed, but Marinette giggled.

“Marinette, it was nice seeing you, but we should probably get going. If the shoot is over, Gorilla should be in the car waiting for us.” Felix said, getting to his feet. Better to leave now than let Adrien keep babbling nonsense.

“You’re not going to try to stall to see her longer?” Adrien asked, thankfully in a lower tone this time. Felix nudged him in the side in retaliation. That boy was just begging to be locked out of the mansion later.

The two waved goodbye to Marinette, and Felix made sure to hold Adrien with an iron grip as they made their way back to the car.

“Have you no shame? She’s going to think that we’re complete idiots. At the most, you’ll make her extremely uncomfortable.” Felix scolded.

Adrien laughed. “ _Relax_ , Fe. Marinette obviously doesn’t mind. She even laughed!”

Felix tisked, though he couldn’t deny it. Marinette _did_ laugh.. But that didn’t necessarily mean she enjoyed his implications. He wasn’t sure _what_ it meant. Did she like him back? Was this her way of hinting that Adrien was right? Or was she just being polite as usual?

He shook his head. What was he thinking! He didn’t even feel that way towards Marinette! Or.. he wasn’t supposed to. Argh! Adrien’s teasing is starting to get into his head.

“Hey, look on the bright side.” Adrien said, noticing his brother’s annoyance. “I’m sure she thinks you look cute when you’re angry.”

“ _Shut up_.”

~~~~~~

Claude hummed a little tune as he walked into the classroom. It wasn’t everyday that he got to class early, but this was a special request via Allegra. And when Allegra asks you to do something, _you do it_. 

He sat down at his assigned desk, paying no mind to the classmate or two that walked in after him, and took his tablet out of his bag. After turning it on, he pulled out another textbook, placing it neatly next to the tablet. A simple set-up, but it should do. Now all Claude had to do was play the part.

The bell rang through the halls, prompting more students to file into the classrooms. Felix came stalking in not a minute later, the exact time Allegra said he would.

_Showtime._

Claude groaned as loud as he could and dramatically flopped onto the desk. “Oh, it’s hopeless! It’s all just hopeless!” 

He heard Felix sigh.

“What’s your problem now?” The blonde asked tiredly, moving Claude’s arm to the side as he sat down. Not as much sympathy as he was hoping for, but- hey -it was Felix. What did he expect?

Claude rolled to the side, letting his head fall on Felix’s shoulder and throwing his arm over his face. “It’s Chemistry. I just can’t understand any of it! No matter how hard I try, or how much I study, the formulas make no sense! I’m going to fail this class.”

Felix tisked towards his wailing and moved over, causing Claude to fall back onto the bench. “Maybe you should try _paying attention_ in class.”

Claude rubbed the back of his head with a pout. This guy really _was_ heartless. How did Marinette get him to be so nice?

“I _do_ pay attention. It doesn’t help. You’re a straight-A student. How do you do it?” He continued as he sat back up.

Felix rolled his eyes. “It’s not _hard_. Just listen, take notes, and do the reading. Simple.” 

“Felix~.” Claude whined, falling back onto him again. 

As Felix started pushing him off, Claude noticed Allegra and Allan walking in. Allegra caught his eye briefly and gave him a subtle yet satisfied smirk.

Claude gasped, abruptly straightening in his seat. He needed to finish this soon or class was going to start.

“Hey, I know! _You_ can tutor me!” He exclaimed, as if he’d just been given an epiphany.

“Absolutely not.” Felix replied flatly.

“Aw, come on, Fe.” Claude pleaded, even batting his eyelashes. “It’ll just be one little study session! All you have to do is check my work and tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

Felix glared. “I said no. Why don’t you have Allegra help you?”

Allegra tilted her head back to look at them from her assigned seat. “Can’t. I’m busy tomorrow.”

“Who said anything about tomorrow? Study with him another day.” Felix said, pulling his tablet out of his bag.

“Oh, don’t be so cold.” Claude frowned. “What if I take you to your favorite coffee shop?”

Felix paused. “The Laduree cafe?”

Claude perked up. “Yep! You can get anything you want, and all you have to do is explain a few simple terms to me.”

“Or I could just go by myself.” 

Claude scoffed. “Just take the deal, please.”

Felix gave him a skeptical look. That was a good sign, right?

“Fine.” He finally relented. “When do you want to study?” 

_Yes!_

“Tomorrow’s good. Say around..” He trailed off, glancing at Allegra. “Noon?”

Allegra shook her head and held up four fingers.

“Er- four. I meant four. Let’s meet up at four tomorrow.” 

“Mhm. Sure. Just don’t be late.” Felix replied, already going back to his books.

“Oh, don’t worry.” Claude assured as the last bell rang. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

Felix didn’t respond, but if he would’ve bothered to look up, he would have caught Claude and Allegra giving each other a quiet high five.

_Mission accomplished._

This was going to be fun.

~~~~~~

Marinette slid into the booth and set her backpack against the wall. She then brushed off the bits of flour sticking to her sleeve. Even after changing, the powdery substance still managed to infect her second outfit. At least it was one of the smaller bags that she dropped this time. How can she save an entire city as Ladybug, but not be able to make a simple batch of cookies without wrecking the kitchen as Marinette? Sometimes she wondered why her parents had her help in the bakery at all, if you can call that helping.

“Thanks for meeting with me today, Marinette.” Allegra said, putting one of her textbooks on the table.

Marinette smiled. “Of course. A study date is definitely something I need, and I always enjoy our time together.”

Allegra put a hand to her chest. “Aw, so do I! What do you want to do first? Study or talk about ‘Birds of a Feather’?”

Marinette glanced down at her backpack in thought. They had a test coming up next week, so they definitely needed to study at some point. If they did, though, she’d want it to be fresh in her mind. 

“Mm, let’s talk about the blog first.” She decided. 

“Perfect!” Allegra beamed, pulling the app up on her phone. “There hasn’t been an akuma for three days. That means that one is bound to show up soon, since Hawkmoth doesn’t normally wait a whole month for akumas.”

Marinette nodded, genuinely impressed. Allegra’s reports were always so detailed. It didn’t surprise her that Alya was threatened by the competition. 

“Like I expected, people are claiming fraud on my pictures. I think the few pics Alya got for her blog are the only reason I’m not being swarmed by haters. We need to get a lot of good pictures during this next battle or I’m going to start losing followers.”

“How do you suppose we do that?” 

Allegra pressed a few buttons on her phone, before flipping the device for Marinette to see the screen. Multiple videos were splayed across the screen, each showing a different area of the city.

“We’re always having trouble getting the footage because we have to run around the city, right? Well, the way I see it is: why bother racing around to get one, blurry photo when we have all the cameras we need already?”

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. “Are those.. Security cameras? How did you get access to these?”

Allegra pulled the phone back, a smug expression making its way onto her features. “Let’s just say I borrowed the little tech genius from your class.”

“ _Max_?” Why would he agree to help with something like that? Tampering with the camera systems was illegal!

“Allegra, I’m not sure about this.” Marinette said. Not only could they get in serious, legal trouble for this, giving Allegra access to the city’s security cameras could also jeopardize her identity. What if she landed in the wrong alleyway, and Allegra caught her detransforming on tape? What if she already had?

“But it’s such a good idea!” Allegra tried to persuade her. “With these, we’ll be able to catch tons of video footage for Le Paon without lifting a finger!” 

Marinette sighed. “This isn’t right. What if the government found out? Mayor Bourgeois would be furious. How long have you been doing this?”

Disappointment flicked across Allegra’s expression, but she turned the cameras off. “Only since this morning. I thought it was a good idea, too.”

Marinette slumped back into her booth seat, feeling the rush of relief. 

“So, no on the security cameras.” Allegra concluded, setting her phone on the table dejectedly. “I guess we’ll just have to keep getting as many pictures of him as we can.” 

Marinette hummed. Security Cameras definitely weren’t an option, but they couldn’t run around Paris like they had been, either. Something needed to change..

“What if we made a tag.” She suggested. “Like an akuma or Le Paon tag. That way, when someone saw Le Paon or an akuma, they would tag us.”

And Ladybug and Chat Noir will get more warnings before an attack.

Allegra brightened. “Oh yeah! That’s pretty close to security cameras. Maybe other people can get pictures for us too.” 

Marinette nodded and started typing out the ideas on a memo from her phone. She didn’t want to forget what the tag names would be. 

They started brainstorming what names to use, but the two only got a few names in when a gasp interrupted them.

“Woah! What are _you_ guys doing here?”

It was Claude, and he seemed extremely enthusiastic about seeing them for some reason. 

“Are you guys studying? What a coincidence! We are too!” He exclaimed as he reached behind him and pulled someone else forward. 

Marinette’s eyes widened, recognizing them immediately.

Felix glowered at Claude, until his eyes landed on Marinette. She felt her heart rate pick up as they stared at each other. First, the park, and now, the cafe? Why was she suddenly seeing him everywhere? It wasn’t necessarily a _bad_ thing, but..

“Wow! What are the odds?” Allegra said, bringing Marinette from her thoughts. “Since we’re all here, why don’t you guys study with us?”

“Wha-?” 

“Oh no, we couldn’t.” Claude replied, though he was already sitting down next to her. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Of course we’re sure! Aren’t we, Marinette?” 

Marinette faltered at the sudden question. They both looked so expectant and eager. It was a bit unnerving, to be honest. She glanced at Felix, who seemed equally astonished- and a little annoyed, but she was told that he always looked that way.

“Uh.. sure. You guys can sit with us.” She finally answered.

“Thanks, Mari, you’re the best.” Claude remarked as he reached for one of the menus. 

Felix remained standing, apparently indecisive about what to do.

“Take a seat, Felix.” Allegra prompted, flashing him a sharp smile. “It’s rude to linger.”

His lips twitched in a scowl, but he sat down as he was told. Why was he so upset? It wasn’t because of her, was it?

“If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to sit with us.” Marinette assured, trying to sound as understanding as possible.

Felix met her eyes again at the comment, and his expression softened.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll stay.”

“Great!” Claude grinned. “Now we can all study together.” 

Marinette smiled for Claude’s sake, even though she still felt nervous on Felix’s behalf.

Everyone got out their respective books- Chemistry, History, and English -and started studying. Felix grumbled a few pointers to Claude, who wrote them down with an all-too-pleased expression. Allegra would occasionally ask Marinette to check her work, and, in turn, Marinette would ask Allegra to quiz her on a few terms. A waiter came by with their drinks not long after. Marinette made sure to set a sweet aside for Tikki.

“So how’d you guys end up here?” Marinette asked as she sipped on her latte, simply making polite conversation. 

Claude, of course, was the first to answer. “I bribed Felix into tutoring me by bringing him to his favorite coffee shop.” 

“Oh, this is your favorite coffee shop?”

Felix nodded. “It’s close to the library that I fancy. The Cappuccinos aren’t bad either.”

Marinette hummed. “I wouldn’t know. I prefer lattes, myself.” 

“Would you like to try it?” He offered, gently pushing the cup towards her.

Marinette took the cup with a “thanks” and carefully brought the hot drink to her lips. The boldness of the coffee taste threw her at first, though she couldn’t say that she disliked it. A hint of sweetness caught her attention too, despite the liquid being mostly bitter. It’s not something she would usually order, but overall..

“Not bad.” She decided, pushing the cup back over to Felix.

Felix gave a small smile as he pulled it back. “Told you it wouldn’t be.”

Marinette giggled. “I’ll have to get one next time I come.” 

“Well, maybe I’ll see you here. Then I can get your latte.” He replied lightheartedly.

Marinette smiled, fighting down another blush. At least she knew that she wasn’t the reason for his discomfort. 

“I’d like that.”

~~~~~~

Felix slipped his books into his bag and tucked his pen and pencil into their respective pockets on the side. The fact that he stayed here for three whole hours with those hooligans should be considered an accomplishment. He swung his bag over his shoulder, looking out the window for his car as he did. With all of the street lights, it was almost hard to tell that the sun had already set. The slim line of dark blue above the building across the street was his only confirmation of the night’s presence. 

He glanced down at Marinette, who was now curled up on her booth seat, head tucked in her arms on the table, fast asleep. She’d lulled off around ten minutes ago, which is why they decided it was time to leave in the first place. 

“Don’t stare too hard.” Claude smirked. 

“I can take a picture for you if you want.” Allegra teased.

Felix shot them a glare, his irritation from earlier resurfacing in his mind. “Don’t patronize me. What the heck was this, anyway?”

Allegra smiled innocently. “I don’t know _what_ you’re talking about.” 

“Don’t act like you two didn’t set this whole thing up!” Felix snapped.

“Now, now, let’s not get riled up. We wouldn’t want to wake sweet Marinette.” Claude said in a hushed tone.

As if on queue, the ravenette let out a yawn, before cuddling back into her crossed arms.

“I don’t see what the problem is.” Allegra commented as she picked up her book bag. “You two had a good time.”

“You even got an indirect kiss.” Claude remarked.

Felix flushed. “Wha-”

“ _And_ you got a second date.” Allegra added.

His blush deepened. “Date? _Second_? What are you two even _talking_ about?” 

The pair snickered.

“Oh, don’t act like you don’t know.” Claude sang as he nudged Felix in the shoulder.

Felix scoffed and went to retort when Allegra spoke again.

“Welp! We’d better get going. Be a dear and make sure Marinette gets home safe, will you?” 

How she wormed her way around him, he’ll never know, but Allegra and Claude were out the door before he could even refuse the request. It’s not that he _minded_ taking Marinette home. It’s more of that he’d just about had enough of those two meddling in his personal affairs. Didn’t they have anything better to do with their lives? 

_Probably not._ He thought, moving to Marinette’s side so he could wake her up. She heaved a sigh, blowing a bit of her bangs to the side as she did. She looked so peaceful. So delicate. It made him want to let her sleep forever. 

Felix brushed a strand of her hair to the side, lightly tucking it behind her ear so it didn’t bother her. Round, black earrings gleamed under the cafe’s lights. They were a bit plain for a fashion designer. Maybe they were special to her somehow.

“Mari.” He said softly, giving her shoulder a small push. “It’s time to wake up. I need to take you home.” 

Marinette hummed and shifted on the booth. “Mm.. yes, Le Paon, you should go home.. Come back tomorrow, though”

Felix reeled back, heat rushing to his cheeks. Did he hear that right? Was she.. was she _dreaming_ about him? (Or, dreaming about Le Paon.) Either way, it sounded like she wanted his alter ego to come visit again.

He shook his head, and nudged her a second time. Now was not the time for bashfulness.

After a few tries, she finally woke up enough for him to walk her outside. By then, Gorilla was already out there and waiting for him in the car. He opened the car door for Marinette, then walked around to his side once she was settled in.

“Take us to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, please.” 

Gorilla nodded and pulled onto the street. Felix leaned back in his seat, still thinking about what Marinette had said. Granted, she’d said it in a dream-induced state, but that just meant she _dreamt_ about him, right? To dream about something, you’d have to think about it often. How much does she think about Le Paon? About him?

A light weight sunk into his shoulder, effectively cutting off his thoughts and seizing his heart. He didn’t have to look down to know what it was. Marinette. She was sleeping. On his shoulder. She must have forgotten to fasten her seat belt. When did she move so close to him? Should he wake her up? That would be the polite thing to do..

Felix shook her shoulder slightly, but she only snuggled further into his arm. He was about to shake her again, when he paused. She looked so cute, and the way she leaned on him felt.. Nice. He didn’t want to wake her up. He.. he liked it. 

Oh gosh, he _liked_ it. 

Felix sucked in a breath. 

_Calm down. It’s not like you haven’t been this close before._ He told himself. They’d practically hugged each other at the ice rink the other day, though he didn’t feel the way that he did now. 

His thoughts flicked back to that time when he first went to her house as Le Paon, when she held his hand and looked at him with a quiet understanding. He’d felt something then. It was..anxiety..and excitement. An odd eagerness that yearned to be explored. Moments like these- in the quiet of the night and the vulnerability of their hearts -were the ones that resonated within him the most. He couldn’t help wondering if he would feel it now. If he just moved his hand a _little_ closer.. Would he be able to..?

Felix ripped his hand away and took another deep breath. Marinette was asleep right now. He couldn’t go around touching people like that while they were unconscious, even if it was a simple hold of the hand. 

He pushed her back onto her side of the car- careful not to wake her up too much -and buckled her in so she wouldn’t fall again. They dropped her off a few minutes later. She was a bit disoriented, but thanked them nonetheless and got out like nothing had happened. Felix wondered if he would be able to act the same way when he saw her again. 


	9. Chapter 9

Le Paon barely ducked in time to avoid another floating bomb. Even with the akuma defeated, their “traps” were still getting in his way. Was this _really_ what his Father had in mind when he made that plan to get Ladybug’s miraculous? Felix could hardly take a single step to the left, let alone jump around for a pair of earrings. 

Ladybug yelped a few feet in front of him, narrowly avoiding a bomb herself. She called her miraculous cure, and the bombs disappeared one by one.

 _About time_. Le Paon thought with a scowl. 

He leapt to his feet and opened his fan. Ladybug glanced in his direction, but she was clearly more concerned about her miraculous, which was beeping now more than ever. She swiftly threw out her yo-yo, getting ready to take off.

_Oh no you don’t!_

Le Paon lunged forward, but right before he could grab her, someone collided into his back. He hit the ground hard, his cheek scraping against the pavement. Le Paon grit his teeth and twisted enough to see Chat Noir on top of him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The hero asked. The clear smugness in his tone only irritated Le Paon further.

He threw his elbow back to nudge Chat Noir in the chest. Chat Noir flinched back in retaliation with a wince, giving Le Paon enough leeway to flick his fan towards the cat.

Daggers flew from the fan, and Chat Noir jumped off of Le Paon completely to avoid them. Le Paon, yet again, pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the stinging pain in his cheek. 

Chat Noir took out his baton and swung it around a few times before aiming it at Le Paon.

Le Paon rolled his eyes. “Are you going to keep showing off or are you actually going to fight me?” 

“Why not do both?” Chat Noir smirked. He used his baton as leverage to kick Le Paon in chest. Le Paon dodged by sliding underneath of him and using the momentum to kick the baton. 

Chat Noir rolled, but recovered quickly enough to avoid Le Paon’s fist. He moved to the side and yanked Le Paon’s arm down so he could jump over him. Le Paon growled in annoyance and whirled around to see Chat Noir scooping up his baton and the civilian.

“See you next time, birdbrain!” Chat Noir called with a mini-salute, vaulting off with the civilian.

Le Paon scowled at him, but he ignored the lame excuse of an insult. Chat Noir wasn’t his objective right now. 

Unfortunately, the girl who _was_ his objective was already long gone. He sighed and started his way back to the school. He had hoped his Father’s plan would be easier than it sounded a few days ago. 

_Guess not._ He thought as he landed in one of the hidden alleyways. 

His transformation dropped just then, and he hissed as the pain from the scratch on his cheek sharpened. 

“You’re hurt!” Duusu cried, fluttering around him like a doting mother.

Felix waved his kwami away. “It’s just a scratch. I’ll live. We need to get back to the school, though.” 

Duusu nodded and flew into Felix’s vest pocket at his silent command.

Felix gave the streets a brief scan before breaking into a sprint down the sidewalk. If he was lucky, he could make it back to the mansion before Gorilla leaves.

-

Felix held back another wince as he entered the school. If only Ladybug would have had enough breathing room to cast her cure _after_ his fight with Chat Noir. 

“I still can’t believe you fell in the library.” Adrien snickered next to him.

“Drop it, Adrien. Everyone falls.” He retorted with a roll of the eyes.

Adrien smirked. “Not you. Not usually. You sure there wasn’t something- or some _one_ -on your mind distracting you?”

Felix sent him a glare. “Will you stop with the-”

“Felix!” 

The two boys paused, turning to the direction of the call. 

Marinette gave them both a wave and smile, though her main focus was on Felix. “I wanted to thank you again for driving me home the other day.”

“Of course. It was my pleasure.” He responded, totally not thinking about the way she cuddled up to him in the car. 

“I’m glad to hear that, because I barely remember the ride at all, just getting into the car and then getting out a few minutes later.” She admitted, fiddling with the tip of one of her ponytails.

Felix kept a neutral expression, despite being on the verge of screaming. He figured that she didn’t remember their.. _encounter_ , but hearing her say it out loud was an agonizing confirmation that he didn’t care to have. 

“Yes, you slept quite soundly. Are you getting enough sleep at home?”

Marinette let out a nervous laugh. “I get sleep… sometimes.” 

Felix sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Lack of sleep can be detrimental to your physical and emotional health, Marinette. You need to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.” 

She offered an apologetic smile. “I’ll try to remember that.”

He glanced up at her again, thinking over her words.

“I have a sleep schedule you could try.” He then suggested. “It might help you get more rest.”

Truth be told, he’d been making it for Adrien, but his brother shouldn’t mind sharing, especially since he doesn’t know about it yet.

Marinette hummed. “Sure. I don’t see why not.”

“Good.” Felix said with a satisfied nod. “I’ll text it to you, then. Do you mind giving me your number?”

“Of course not.” She smiled. “I’m actually surprised we haven’t traded numbers already.” 

As Marinette turned to fish her phone out of her bag, A light nudge poked Felix in the side.

“Look at you being all smooth.” Adrien mumbled out of the side of his mouth. 

Scarlet washed over his cheeks, but Felix ignored it. 

“I haven’t the slightest idea what you mean.” He ground out.

Adrien merely snorted. “You’re _still_ denying the fact that you like her?”

Felix’s grip on his bag tightened.

“Here.” Marinette interrupted, thankfully so. “Just put your number in my contacts.”

Felix nodded and took her phone, giving her his as he did. “You can do the same for mine.”

“Fine.” Adrien muttered as they both typed on the other’s phone. “Whether you’re in denial or just don’t want to answer, I’ll prove that you like her.”

“Oh?” Felix replied, trying to sound disinterested. “And how do you plan to do that?”

Adrien nicked the phone from Felix’s hands as he typed in the last digit. “By forcing you to admit your feelings.”

Felix didn’t even want to consider what that meant. 

Adrien gave the phone back to Marinette, who’d finished as well, and shoved Felix’s own phone back into his hands.

“It’s great that you two are getting so close now-a-days.” Adrien began, slipping his arm around Marinette’s shoulders with a charming smile. Felix rose a brow.

“Y-You think so?” Marinette stammered, glancing back at Felix with what _looked_ to be a blush. It couldn’t be, though. She had no reason to be blushing.. Right?

Adrien gave a solemn nod. “Would I lie to you?”

Marinette knitted her brows together, confused. “Well, no-”

Adrien heaved a heavy sigh, turning from them slightly to emphasize his grief, and Felix almost wanted to snap at him to just get on with whatever he was about to do.

“Adrien?” But of course, Marinette played right into his hands, the poor, sweet, innocent girl. Felix might have warned her had he not been curious about the reason for his brother’s impromptu play. Where, exactly, was he going with this?

“Oh, sorry.” Adrien replied, steering his eyes towards the ground. “I just wish we could get closer too. You’re so amazing, Marinette. Any guy would be a complete idiot not to admit it.”

Felix rolled his eyes at Adrien’s subtle, yet pointed look in his direction. He’d proclaimed Marinette’s brilliance on multiple occasions! 

Marinette flushed. “Uh- I - t-that is- I- I think you’re giving me too much..credit.” 

“Nonsense! Even Felix agrees. Right, Fe?” 

Felix’s body went rigid when she suddenly looked up at him, her round, bluer than blue eyes piercing his very soul. So many emotions swam beneath those eyes: surprise and discomfort- the kind one tends to feel when being showered with compliments. The thing that captured his attention most, however, was the hint of expectancy, of hope. Did she want him to agree?

“I think she’s remarkable.” The words tumbled from his lips, so smooth and right that he couldn’t help the small smile that came afterwards. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her a million times over until his voice grew hoarse. How creative she was, how brilliant or beautiful- no, not beautiful, _breathtaking_. He wanted to take her in his arms and explain all the things in the world that he’d use to describe her until she believed them to be true, until she could see how extraordinary she really was.. Until she knew how lucky he felt to even be in the same room as her at all.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sharp ringing of the school bell. Felix blinked, suddenly realizing that he’d just been staring at Marinette the whole time. He wasn’t sure whether it was good or bad when he also realized that she’d been staring back. 

Adrien snapped his fingers. “Ah, look at that. It’s time for class. Mari, why don’t you go on ahead?”

Had it not been for Adrien’s gentle push on her shoulder, Felix was quite certain she wouldn’t have moved. Marinette stumbled off, and Adrien made sure she was out of earshot before turning back to Felix with a wide, knowing grin.

The rush of heat returned to Felix’s cheeks, but that didn’t stop him from glaring. Maybe he _did_ like Marinette a little more than he probably should. So what? It wasn’t a _crime_. _Everyone_ liked Marinette. 

“Anything you have to say, Felix?” Adrien asked coyly.

“Not to you.” He bit back. Felix may have a _tiny_ crush on Marinette- which is completely justified, in his opinion, if one would just _look_ at her -but that didn’t mean he would give Adrien the satisfaction of being right. Felix would never hear the end of it if that were the case. 

“I’m going to class.”

Adrien shrugged as Felix passed him. “I’ll get it out of you eventually~.”

 _I don’t doubt it._ Felix thought. Someday Adrien was bound to rip these feelings right out of him, but for now, he had the bell’s mercy at his side to just _keep walking_. 

~~~~~~

Le Paon slipped down the ladder connected to Marinette’s trap door. The thought of intruding on her privacy worried him, but at this time of night, he had no way of knowing if she was asleep or not. At the very least, he’d knocked before entering. She just didn’t answer.

He dropped down onto the floor next to her bed. Seeing it was empty, he moved to the next ladder, looking at the rest of the room below. Le Paon narrowed his eyes when he noticed her sitting at her desk, intently scrolling through whatever was on her computer screen. It wasn’t _that_ late- barely past midnight -but she should already be in bed according to the sleep schedule he’d sent her earlier. 

Nevertheless, Le Paon continued down the next ladder to greet her. Whether Marinette followed his schedule or not was her decision, and he supposed he should be grateful that she didn’t follow it for the night. 

He peaked over her shoulder to see the computer screen. She must have been extremely engrossed in what she was doing, because his presence didn’t seem to affect her at all. Either that or she just didn’t care that he was there. 

His eyes widened slightly when he realized what had her so captivated. 

It was the blog that Allegra kept blabbing about. Marinette was scrolling through the pictures of him from the battlefield. When a decent one popped up, she stopped scrolling and started sketching in her sketchbook, using the picture as reference. The sketchbook, he noticed, had a good few pictures of him in there, which were impressively accurate. 

“You know, if you missed me that much, you could’ve just called.” 

Marinette had to have jumped about five feet off of her chair, letting out a slight scream. 

“Don’t scare me like that!” She cried, putting a hand to her chest. His words must have caught up with her a second later because a blush exploded across her face as well. “A-And I wasn’t looking because I _missed_ you- I mean, not that I _didn’t_ \- Wait, no- ugh! Drawing reference. I was looking. At the pictures. For Drawing reference.”

Le Paon tried not to laugh, but he couldn’t resist a humorous smile. “Apologies.” He said. “It wasn’t my intention to frighten you. I did knock.”

Marinette gave him a displeased look, then sighed. “Just don’t do it again, please.” 

Le Paon nodded and turned his eyes back to the computer. “So, is this the reason there’s more civilians lurking around the akumas?”

Marinette grimaced. “Unfortunately so. My friend Allegra was determined to make this blog for you. She even talked me into helping.” 

“Ah, I see.” He replied, as if he didn’t already know. “Are these all the pictures she has?”

Marinette nodded, scrolling through the blog again to show him more. Le Paon hummed.

“I thought I’d look more flattering on the battlefield.” He joked.

He was rewarded by a giggle from Marinette. “Well, it’s not easy getting good pictures of a fight from a far. You’re always moving.”

“Do you want to take one now?”

Marinette gave him a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

“A picture.” He elaborated. “It won’t be blurry now, and if you get a good one, perhaps this ‘Allegra’ will give me some breathing room.”

She snorted “I doubt that. But I appreciate the gesture. Besides, I can’t send her a picture of you in my room. She’d ask _way_ too many questions.” 

Le Paon shrugged. “Who said anything about taking a picture in your room?”

~~~~~

Marinette adjusted her camera lense, trying to find a good angle. Le Paon held his pose on the rooftop, patiently waiting for her to finish.

“How many pictures are you taking?” He teased, though he kept his expression neutral.

“Sorry, sorry. This just isn’t cooperating.” She muttered, squinting at the phone. The full moon shed a wonderful amount of light on him, but her phone couldn’t seem to capture it. The way it draped him in a silver glow, the sparkle of his feathers- His suit looked absolutely enchanting. _He_ looked absolutely enchanting.

Marinette felt a blush creep across her cheeks. 

“You know what?” She nearly squeaked as she snapped a quick picture. “This should do.” 

Le Paon let out a breath of relief, his shoulders sagging. “I don’t know how he does this everyday.”

Marinette gave a questioning hum towards his comment as she studied his picture. It didn’t have quite as many sparkles, or catch his sharp features, but Allegra should be satisfied.

“You don’t know how _who_ does this everyday?” She asked, finally looking back up at Le Paon.

He raised his eyebrows, as if he hadn’t expected her to hear him. “Ah, um, nothing. I was just thinking of someone.” 

Marinette tilted her head with curiosity, but decided not to press the matter. If Le Paon didn’t want to tell her something, it was probably to protect his identity. She could understand that.

“Let’s go back inside.” Le Paon added. “If someone sees me with you, you might get in trouble.” 

Marinette nodded. “That’s a good point.” 

They climbed down the trap door again, easily slipping back into Marinette’s room.

“Thanks again for letting me take a picture of you.” She said as they settled down in the lower part of her room. 

Le Paon waved his hand, snuggling into her pink bean bag chair. It seemed to be one of his favorite things at her house. 

“Anything I can do to help.” He replied simply. “That’s all you need, right? That one picture?”

Marinette dipped her chin in a nod, a soft smile spreading across her lips. It was so odd to think that her arch nemesis in the battle for the miraculous had become her routine company at her house, even odder when she thought about how much she enjoyed it. When she first met him as Marinette, she was sure he’d use her as leverage against Chat Noir, or even just leave her on her own, defenseless, but he didn’t. He saved her- in a most efficient manner, too. He’d even manage to cut a boulder completely in half with his fans. What were those made of anyway? Knives, she assumed, but what kind?

“Actually,” She started, fiddling with the end of her jacket. “There _is_ something else I’d like to ask.”

Le Paon raised a brow slightly, a subtle gesture for her to continue.

“I totally understand if you say no.” She spouted out quickly. “I was just hoping.. from what I saw with you splitting a _rock_ in half.. Would I be able to see your fans?”

Le Paon chuckled. “Is that all?”

He threw out one of his arms, causing one of his fans to slide smoothly into his palm. “Of course you can see them. Be careful, though. The ends are detachable.” 

Marinette gasped with wonder as she took the bundle of blades. The fan was heavier than she expected, and much cooler. She spread the fan apart, watching the individual blades shimmering under her bedroom light. The details were simply incredible. They looked like real feathers, with subtle ruffles on the edges and everything. The only indication of them being blades was the indentation at the end of the “feather” to make the blade sharper. She tilted it in the light again, watching the fuschia centers of the daggers shimmer again. Her hands brushed against the bottom of the fan, feeling the _real_ feathers. Their snow white color struck Marinette as unusual, because it didn’t match the color scheme of Le Paon’s costume at all. 

“So what are you doing here?” She asked as she handed the fan back. 

Le Paon’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, when you usually visit, it’s either on accident or for a reason.” Marinette explained. “So what’s your reason?”

He sputtered, obviously not expecting her to confront him in such a way.

“Uh- well -do I _have_ to have a reason?” He said after a moment.

Marinette blinked up at him. Was he saying that he actually _wanted_ to be here? Just because? She assumed he didn’t hate spending time in her room, but she never dreamed he’d actually want to casually come over whenever the opportunity arose. 

She smiled. “No, I guess not.” 

His fuschia eyes lit up at the answer, surprising her all the more. “Does that mean I can come again?”

“Do you _want_ to come again?” 

Le Paon hesitated.

“..Yes.” 

A light chuckle passed her lips. “Then that’s your answer.”

~~~~~~

Nathalie stood by the front door of the mansion, staring intently out the window. 

_Any minute now.._ She thought to herself. Her pin was prepped between her fingers, waiting. 

A shadow flicked past the window, and Nathalie started writing. As quick as a flash, she was at the kitchen doorway. She needed to see him coming back in.

The storage door creaked open, and in popped Felix, looking this way and that for witnesses. Nathalie hid behind the door frame, keeping her pen scratches to a minimum as she watched him enter. That was the third night he’d gone out as Le Paon with no warning. She didn’t have enough evidence the first two times, but once she realized he’d be going out again, Nathalie quickly prepared everything to capture his movements. Thankfully, it worked.

Nathalie slunk back to her desk right as Felix exited the kitchen. She trained her eyes on her laptop, knowing that if he saw her face, he’d realize that she’d seen him. A small breath passed her lips when he walked upstairs. He was completely oblivious that she’d caught him.

Perfect.

Nathalie stood up, grabbed her notepad, and approached Gabriel’s door.

“Sir?” She called softly after a few knocks. “I know it’s late, and you don’t like to be bothered at this hour, but it’s important.”

Let’s see him try to weasel his way out of this one.


	10. Chapter 10

Allegra couldn’t help the ear-piercing squeal that escaped her lips as she stared at Marinette’s picture of Le Paon. Finally! After weeks of chasing that man’s tail around the city, they _finally_ got a good- no, not just good, a _great_ picture! This was incredible! She felt like bouncing around the room from pure joy, which she did, along with singing a happy little ‘victory tune’. It wasn’t appropriate for the school classroom, but dash it all if she cared what her teacher might think. They were on their routine break between classes anyway.

“I can’t believe you got this!” She exclaimed after a good few moments of staring at it. She wanted to memorize every detail. “I mean, how _did_ you get it? The picture seems so close! It’s like he’s standing right next to you!”

Allegra was too excited to notice Marinette shifting uncomfortably next to her.

“W-Well, I was out on the balcony and.. and I saw him on one of the rooftops across the street. My phone just happened to have a good focusing feature.” The ravenette explained. 

Allegra’s features twisted into a scowl, though it wasn’t necessarily directed towards Marinette. “I wish _I_ could get that lucky. You’d think after months of waiting, he might show up on _my_ doorstep every-”

Her miniature rant was cut off by the vibration of Marinette’s phone. Someone had texted her, and from the pop-up notification at the top of the screen, it appeared to be.. Felix? Since when did he get her number? Since when did they _text_?

~My Father’s at home today, so you should be able to visit this afternoon after school hours. Does that work for you?~

Allegra squinted at the text. He was inviting her over to his house? 

“That’s scroundal.” She muttered. 

“What?”

Allegra snapped back to reality at Marinette’s voice. “Hm? Oh, nothing.”

She handed Marinette’s phone back, subtly checking the time as she did. It was important that no one- especially Felix -interrupt. “Do you like greenhouses?”

Marinette blinked. “Greenhouses?”

“Yeah! Claude and the rest of us are going to visit a greenhouse tomorrow, and I was wondering if you’d like to join us.” She requested, making sure to keep a light and sweet tone. Hopefully, Marinette wouldn’t remember the _last_ time she asked her to go somewhere, not that the girl seemed to mind running into Felix so often.

Marinette hummed. “I _think_ that should work. I don’t remember having anything else to do tomorrow besides school.”

Allegra clapped her hands together as the bell rang above them. “Wonderful! I’ll tell the boys.”

Marinette nodded and gave a quick goodbye as she left to go back to class. Conveniently, Felix walked in right after her exit.

“Felix!” Allegra nearly cooed. “How do you feel about greenhouses?”

Felix paused at his desk and rose a brow at her. “I’d say that I liked them until you asked that question.”

Allegra only smiled. “Why don’t you join us this fine Thursday on our trip to the greenhouse?”

Felix sat down, pulling his bag onto his lap to rummage through it. “As fun as that sounds, I’ll have to refuse.” 

She let out a long, wistful sigh as she sat down next to him. Claude wouldn’t mind sharing his seat with her for a minute. “What a shame. I’ll tell Marinette you couldn’t come then.”

Felix twitched next to her, and she felt her smile widen. Checkmate. 

Unfortunately, she had to go back to her seat after that, but Allegra still counted it as a success. Felix didn’t agree to go with them out loud, but somehow, she knew he would be there. 

~~~~~~

Marinette clutched her sketchbook to her chest as she stared up at the large, metal gates of the Agreste Mansion. Despite it being the middle of the day, she couldn’t help finding the sight a bit eerie. Normally, one would find gates like this outside an abandoned house on the outskirts of town, not in the middle of Paris as if it were as natural as a mailbox.

A compartment opened to her right, and Marinette jumped back with a slight squeal when a silver bulb shot out at her. Something red in the middle of the bulb seemed to shrink and expand a few times as it circled her. A camera, she realized. It had to be one of those built-in cameras that she’d heard about.

~Name?~

Marinette faltered at the sharp tone. “Ah, u-um..”

The camera inched closer, somehow appearing to glare at her. ~ _Name_?~

She swallowed. “M-Marinette.”

A pause. 

~You are not on our schedule for-~

~Oh, cut it out, will you?~

Marinette blinked. Was that Felix?

~Apologies, Marinette. Our secretary’s not that bright.~

A click emitted from the metal gates, and they swung open, allowing her to enter. Marinette spared the camera one last glance as it retreated to its compartment in the wall before starting forward. 

Felix greeted her at the entrance. “Sorry about the camera. Father can get a bit carried away when it comes to security. ‘Overprotective’, if you will.”

Marinette gave a tight smile. This whole situation didn’t sit well with her. She didn’t remember the security being this overbearing last time she visited for her and Adrien’s history report. Paris had some criminal activity, yes, but surely cameras and two-story sized walls weren’t necessary. Who was M. Agreste trying to keep out?

 _Or keep in?_ She thought, her gaze flicking to Felix as he closed the front door behind them. He mentioned a few weeks ago the lengths that M. Agreste would go to keep them at home. Marinette can understand wanting to keep one’s children close, but this is a little.. excessive, especially considering the fact that she’s barely seen their father around the house as it is.

Felix showed her to his father’s office, and Marinette briefly noticed a woman sitting at a desk not too far away, the barest hint of a scowl adorning her lips as she typed away on her computer. That, Marinette assumed, must be the secretary that had talked to her over the camera earlier. 

Her attention was turned back to Felix when he pushed open the office door. It wasn’t until they were inside that Marinette realized she was holding her breath. This was M. Agreste, after all. He was known world wide for his fashion achievements, and his company was one to be coveted. Honestly, she could only ever dream of reaching his level of success, and here she was, about to meet him face to face for the first time. 

“Father, this is Marinette, the one I told you about.” Felix introduced. 

A slight blush brushed Marinette’s cheeks at the thought of Felix talking about her, but she tried to push the feeling aside. Right now, she needed to focus on making a good first impression. 

Gabriel’s gaze flicked to her briefly, but he kept his main focus on his screen. “Ah, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. Of course.”

Marinette rose a brow. “Of course”? That’s it? She didn’t expect any sort of special treatment, but she liked to have some common courtesy. He could have at least put a light note into his tone instead of sounding as enthusiastic as a rock. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, M. Agreste.” She finally said, an equally cold tone of her own. Two could play at this game.

She caught Felix giving her a surprised look out of the corner of her eye, which was understandable. Marinette didn’t tend to hold a sharp tongue, but sometimes, exceptions needed to be made.

Gabriel looked up at her as well, and that’s when she stiffened. In hindsight, this was his mansion that she was standing in. If anyone had a right to practically ignore her, it would be him. Nevertheless, Marinette had already made her position clear, and she wasn’t going to back down now. 

Her shoulders straightened as M. Agreste’s hollow, grey eyes assessed her. “You’re from the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, correct?”

Marinette forced a neutral expression. How did he know that? She supposed her last name made it obvious, but still. “Y-Yes, sir.”

He nodded. “Your designs are impressive, albeit a bit rough. With guidance and practice, I’m sure you can inspire a new era of fashion. Have you anything else to show me?”

Marinette took a step forward, offering him her notebook. The tense silence that followed had her fidgeting with her hands as he flips through her designs. His expression didn’t even change while he studied the pages. What kind of robot of a man was he, anyway? Or were her designs just not good enough?

Finally, Gabriel nodded again and handed the notebook back to her. “Splendid. I appreciate the visit.” 

Something about his tone- or lack thereof- made her more irritated than pleased about the compliment. They’d barely said two words to each other. Was this his way of blowing her off? She simply couldn’t tell. 

Felix, obviously used to this behavior, nodded as well and lightly grabbed her arm for them to leave.

“Felix, next time you intend to bring someone new to my mansion, I’d prefer to look into it myself first.” Gabriel remarked as they reached the door.

“Of course, Father.” Felix said, opening the door for them to make a quiet exit. 

Marinette, however, didn’t move. She couldn’t. She was too bewildered to do anything other than stare at Gabriel with a quizzical expression. “Look into it myself first”? “ _My_ mansion”? She could explain away his need to look into visitors, controlling as that may be, but for him to act like he alone owned everything here was outrageous. Whether he bought the place himself or not, Felix and Adrien were his _sons_ , and this was their home too. Let’s not even _mention_ that she was not, in fact, “new to his mansion”.

 _Actually, no._ Marinette thought. _Let’s mention that._

She turned away from Felix, ignoring his panicked expression, and smiled a nice, sweet, _sugary_ smile. “With all due respect, M. Agreste, I’ve visited this mansion before. Adrien and I worked on a history project together.”

Gabriel rose a brow. “What history project?”

Marinette barely held back a scoff, though her smile remained. “You didn’t know about your own son’s history project?”

Admittedly, her tone was harsher than she had meant it to be, but that didn’t mean she regretted what she said. Her parents knew her entire schedule, all of her interests, and they _certainly_ knew about her visit to the Agreste’s to work on their group history project.

Gabriel, however, narrowed his eyes at the confrontation. “I have Nathalie and Gorilla to keep track of that for me.”

It took every ounce of self control she had not to snap at him right then.

“I don’t mean to argue,” She began calmly, “But is it really wise to _hire_ someone to care for your own children?”

Gabriel shot her a full-fledged glare. “Felix and Adrien are _my_ children. I am _their_ father, and _I_ will decide what’s best for them.”

Marinette huffed. She tried being polite, tried helping him see reason. The boys may not be her responsibility, but she wasn’t going to stand back and watch them be mistreated like this. “A _father_ doesn’t lock his children up in a mansion and leave employees to care for them.”

“They have everything they need here!” He yelled.

“Except a loving parent who cares for them!” Marinette spat back. “The only way you haven’t abandoned them is by physically leaving. But you’re practically there by holding yourself up in your office all day.”

Gabriel scoffed. “You best mind your tone, _Mademoiselle_. I don’t have to explain myself to you nor anyone else. Now take your leave before my patience runs dry.”

Marinette’s fists clenched at her sides. How could someone be so stubborn and so _arrogant_? Why did this man even decide to have kids in the first place?

A light touch on her wrist brought her gaze back to Felix. He didn’t say anything, and his expression didn’t change, but she could see the pleading in his eyes. 

A sigh passed her lips, and she shot one last look at Gabriel before marching through the office doors. 

_Another time._ She promised herself as Felix trailed behind her. _Another time._

~~~~~~

Felix quietly closed the office door behind him, not wanting to disturb Father any more than they already had.

“Well, that didn’t go as planned.” He muttered to himself. Inviting Marinette over was supposed to impress his Father, not twist his candy-cane tie into a knot. Though, in all honesty, Felix couldn’t say he was disappointed. He’d never seen Marinette so utterly enraged before. That girl had turned to ice faster than he could blink, and Felix would be lying if he said he wasn’t just a tad love-struck. For someone who usually stumbled over a simple “hello”, her tonguelashing towards his Father could be considered quite a feat. Truly magnificent. 

Felix turned around to tell her this himself, but stopped short when he saw her. She was standing in front of him, a dazed look in her eyes as she clutched her shirt, almost like she was trying to hold her own heart. 

Cautiously, he stepped forward. “Marinette? Are you alright?” 

No response.

“Marinette?” He tried again, starting to get worried.

“I yelled at him.”

“Pardon?”

Finally, she looked at him, and he immediately wished that she hadn’t. Her beautiful blue eyes were hollow, haunted. It made his blood run cold. 

“I yelled at him.” She repeated. “I yelled at your Father. What was I thinking? What if he calls security? I’ll never be allowed to talk to you again. My fashion dream is probably _ruined_ -”

“Woah, hey, hey-” Felix tried to sooth, taking her by the shoulders. (Gently, of course) “It’s fine. Everything’s fine. Father’s not going to call security.”

Marinette dug her hands through her hair. “But what if he does? What if I just got you into _huge_ trouble? What if he pulls you and Adrien out of school?”

He pulled her hands out of her hair. “Can I hug you?”

“I- what?” 

“Can I hug you?” Felix said slowly.

She stared at him for a minute, a little confused, but nodded. 

Felix sighed and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her back. “Just take a deep breath. I promise you that everything’s going to be okay.”

She buried her face into his shirt and sniffled, and he reached up to gently stroke her hair as he felt the wetness of her tears sink into his shoulders. 

“I actually wanted to thank you.” 

Her head jerked back a bit from shock. “Thank me? For what?”

“For sticking up for me and Adrien. Not many people have the courage to stand up to my Father like that, but I’m glad you did.”

Marinette sniffed again and wiped away a stray tear. “I’d do it again if you asked.”

Felix smiled, pulling her back into another hug. He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but he did know one thing: he loved Marinette, and he would do everything he could to keep her from crying like this again.


	11. Chapter 11

Greenhouses. Something Felix always considered to be a gift to bookworms such as himself. It was a place where you could go alone, enjoy the soothing smell of flowers, absorb the refreshing energy from the greenery around you, and spite the annoying onlookers who incessantly nagged you to “Go outside” or “enjoy the weather” or “Get some fresh air”. Greenhouses were indoor jungles that had cleaner air than most parks in some areas. Try telling him that _this_ wasn’t just as “healthy” as whatever people would push him into doing outside. A greenhouse practically was outside- minus the bugs. (An extra bonus) 

Felix shifted the strap of his bag on his shoulder as he brushed his hand over the flower petals. Each one was unique. Beautiful in its own way. The swirl of the rose petals as they wrapped around each other, the curve of the Lilies as they bloomed upwards, the splash of colors radiating from the daisies- He couldn’t think of anything more charming or more captivating to watch.

Well.. He could think of one thing.

Felix glanced up at the girl in front of him. She studied the plants before her with such a curious and delighted sparkle in her eyes, he had to turn his head to hide his smile, though he knew she wouldn’t see it either way. The flowers obviously had all of her attention at the moment, and he couldn’t say that he wasn’t jealous about it. 

“Dude, what are you doing?” Claude suddenly whispered, leaning much too close for comfort. “You need to talk to her if you’re ever going to ask her out.” 

Felix pushed the brunette away. “I’m _not_ going to ask her out.” 

“Why not? If you like her-”

“I never said that.” Felix interrupted sharply, though not loud enough for Marinette to hear.

“You don’t have to.” Allegra spoke up, suddenly standing next to him. “Your presence here is enough.”

“I can’t enjoy a simple trip to the greenhouse?” He ground out. 

Allegra merely shot him a smug little smirk that caused his very blood to boil. He knew she was right, and what’s worse is that _she_ knew she was right. Felix had accompanied them for the sole purpose of spending more time with Marinette, because he did like her. Loved her, actually. His problem now, aside from his classmates’ incessant teasing and meddling, was that he hadn’t the faintest idea what to do with these feelings. Should he confess to her? What happens then? What if she says she doesn’t feel the same way? Felix has never had enough experience with romantic love to know what heartbreak feels like, but he knows the harsh effects of grief. Is it similar to that? He’s not sure he wants to subject himself to something so cruel again. 

But what if she accepts his feelings? Is that even a possibility? 

Claude groaned next to him. “Look, you don’t have to get all snippy about it. Just grab some flowers and give them to her.” 

Felix furrowed his eyebrows. “Wha-”

A fresh bouquet of flowers was shoved into his hands before he could finish. 

“Flowers.” Claude repeated. “Go give them to her.”

“Where did you even get these?” Had he been carrying this whole time?

“No more stalling.” 

Felix went to argue that he _wasn’t_ stalling and genuinely curious, but both Allegra and Claude were already pushing him. Caught off guard, he didn’t resist and within two seconds, they had him whirled around, flowers in hand, facing Marinette.

She looked up at him curiously, probably wondering if he needed something, then saw the flowers. Her eyes widened slightly, and soft pink rose to her cheeks. “Are- Are those for me?”

Felix, suddenly overtaken with panic, glanced down at the flowers as well. “Uh- No. No, they’re.. flowers I noticed on the other side of the greenhouse.” He stammered. “I thought they would make a nice.. design.. pattern.”

Marinette knitted her eyebrows together, giving Felix an overwhelming urge to kick himself. Design patterns? Really? He couldn’t have come up with _anything_ else to say?

“They’re lovely, Felix, but are we allowed to pick the flowers here?” She asked, touching the tip of one of the petals.

Felix grimaced. Another flaw in his fumbled excuse. Picking flowers in a greenhouse was definitely _not_ allowed. “Ah, you’re right. I’ll pay to have them replanted.” 

What he wouldn’t give to be saved from this conversation. Maybe, if he was lucky, an akuma would appear right now.

Felix glanced out the window. The streets were painstakingly peaceful. No akumas today.

Marinette graciously gave him a smile. “Thanks for the idea, though.”

“Of course.” Felix murmured, gripping the stems of the flowers the same way he would Claude’s neck when he got his hands on him. That idiot never thought things through. 

Finally, as she turned back to the other flowers, he made his escape, shuffling back to Allegra, Claude, and Allan. 

“What are you doing? What happened?” Claude asked.

Felix shoved the flowers into Claude’s chest with a scowl. “ _You_ happened.”

“Did she not like the flowers?” Allegra asked with a frown.

“No, she liked them,” Felix replied with a glare, “but not when she thought that I picked them from the greenhouse.”

Allan pulled a face. “Why would she think you picked them from the greenhouse?” 

Felix opened his mouth to reply, but stopped short when he remembered the answer. 

He looked down, his cheeks burning as he admitted, “I.. I may have accidentally said that I did.”

A heartbeat of silence passed, before Claude burst out laughing. Allegra and Allan laughed too, but they had the decency to be subtle about it.

“You.. you told her you picked flowers _from_ the _greenhouse_?” Claude wheezed, clutching his chest from laughing so hard.

Felix scoffed. It’s not like he _meant_ to tell her that. He was nervous! The words just flew out of him before he could think about what he was saying! Is that how Marinette feels when she stutters all the time?

“What’s so funny?”

Felix flinched back, his eyes snapping to the girl in question. When did she walk over to them?

“Oh, Claude just told one of his jokes again. I wouldn’t have him repeat it if I were you.” Allegra said, despite her wide grin. She then placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “You in the mood for some ice cream? I’m in the mood for some ice cream.”

Marinette glanced at Claude, who was still chuckling. “Uh.. sure. Ice cream sounds good.”

“You guys enjoy it.” Felix spoke up. “I need to go back to the mansion.”

Allegra shot him a disapproving look, but he was more focused on Marinette’s sympathetic one. 

“Are you sure?” Marinette asked, worry reflecting in her bluebell eyes.

Felix offered a smile. “Unfortunately, yes. Father prefers Adrien and I practice our music together when we have free time.”

“Well, You’ll be missing out.” Claude smirked, obnoxiously wrapping an arm around Felix’s shoulder. 

“I’m sure.” Felix replied curtly, smacking Claude’s arm off of him. He then turned his attention back to Marinette. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She nodded. “Tomorrow.”

The group walked outside, Marinette and the others turning left and Felix turning right to the parking lot.

“Don’t worry.” Claude whispered as they separated, throwing him a wink. “We’ll get you two together eventually.”

Felix rolled his eyes. Having those three act as matchmakers? 

That might be more terrifying than Hawkmoth himself.

~~~~~~

~How did it go?~

~Probably as best it could 🙄 Claude gave him flowers to give to her and he turned around and said they were *from* the greenhouse!~

Adrien chuckled. ~Really? That’s not like Felix~

~You would think, but I’m telling you Marinette brings out a whole other side of him. You should have seen how red his face was when he told us!~

Imagining his stone faced brother being so flustered only made Adrien laugh harder. Getting Allegra’s number had been a challenge, since they were placed in completely different classes, but it was worth it. She always highlighted the best parts of the “dates”. 

The doorknob twitched, and Adrien turned his phone off just in time for Felix to come strolling into their bedroom. 

Adrien twisted on the couch, folding his arms over the back and resting his chin on his forearms. “Enjoy your trip to the greenhouse?”

Felix shot him a glare, causing Adrien’s grin to widen.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“How do you even know about the greenhouse?” His brother asked, irritated. It gave Adrien a good feeling. Felix wouldn’t be so worked up about the flower ordeal if he didn’t care.

“I have my ways.” He answered vaguely. 

Felix’s eyes narrowed. “It was Allegra, wasn’t it?”

Adrien smirked. “Did you have fun on your date or not?”

He could tell Felix noticed his dodge, but the term “date” obviously took precedence in his mind. “It wasn’t a date.”

“But you wanted it to be.” 

Felix scoffed. “I never said that.”

Adrien shrugged. “You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”

Felix nearly growled with frustration. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Um, because it is?” Adrien suggested.

Felix pinched the bridge of his nose. “Adrien, for the last time, there is nothing between me and Marinette.”

“Nothing yet.”

“ _Adrien_!”

Adrien sighed and unlocked his phone, pulling up a specific picture. “Fe, you can’t expect me to believe that _this_ is nothing.”

Felix glanced down at Adrien’s screen. It took a moment to register the picture, but as soon as he did, he froze. “..Where did you get that?”

“You guys were so invested in each other, I’d be surprised if you noticed an akuma right in front of you.” Adrien said simply. To be completely honest, Plagg was the one that took the photo of Felix and Marinette hugging yesterday, but he couldn’t say that for obvious reasons.

Felix blinked, utterly speechless. Adrien couldn’t remember the last time his brother had been speechless.

Before either could say another word, though, their bedroom door swung open, and in walked their Father, looking grimmer than usual. 

“Boys.” He nodded as a short greeting. “I’d like to have a word with you.”

Adrien rose to his feet immediately, casting his phone aside, and Felix straightened. 

“I have made the decision that you are no longer allowed to interact with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She is a bad influence on your behaviors.”

Adrien’s eyes widened. “But Father, how can she-”

“This is not up for discussion.” Gabriel interrupted sharply. “My decision is final. Understood?”

Adrien glanced at Felix. He hadn’t said anything, and his expression remained neutral, but Adrien noticed his brother’s fists clenching at his sides.

Gabriel nodded again, taking their silence as agreement, and strolled back out of the room, leaving the brothers to themselves.

“…Are we really gonna-”

“Of course not.” Felix snapped. “Marinette is a lot of things, but a bad influence isn’t one of them. Father’s just bitter because someone finally called him out on his bullcrap.”

Adrien stared at him, overcome with curiosity. “Called out on his bullcrap”? What could that mean? 

He didn’t ask, though, since Felix seemed furious enough already.

_Guess we’re done talking about the date._

~~~~~~

Marinette stared down at the squares of black and brown, mapping out the pieces and strategies on the board. The white pieces surrounded the black ones, but she didn’t acknowledge that. Instead, she moved a single rook across the board.

“Checkmate.”

Le Paon lurched back in front of her, and she smirked.

“Checkmate? But how?” He asked, his face riddled with confusion as he checked the chess board. Sure enough, his king is surrounded. “You shouldn’t have been able to _move_ with all of my pieces suffocating you.”

She giggled. “A magician never reveals her secrets.”

Le Paon sighed with a small smile. “I supposed that’s fair. Do you want to play again?”

Marinette smiled as well. He’d knocked on her trapdoor a bit earlier than usual- though it was still dark outside -and came in with a rather foul mood. It was nice to see him smiling again.

“You know, I’m actually in the mood to watch a movie.” She replied, leaning back on her palms. “What do you think?”

“I think I’ll go get some blankets and pillows while you get the laptop ready.” He said lightheartedly.

Marinette grinned and started crawling across the floor to her laptop as Le Paon climbed the ladder to get some of her pillows. A few minutes later they were strewn across the floor, nestled in blankets and pillows and starting “Cinderella”. 

“Imagine having a view like that.” Marinette commented when it showed the kingdom from Cinderella’s bedroom window.

“We do have a view like that.” Le Paon pointed out. “Excluding the castle, of course, but Paris is a beautiful city, especially when you’re running across the rooftops.”

“Well, not everyone has that privilege, Le Paon.” She teased, despite knowing she had the very same privilege.

A small pause ensued before he spoke again.

“Would you like to?”

Marinette looked up at him.

“I don’t mind taking you for a quick run, just to the Eiffel Tower and back. No one will notice you left.” He added.

She chewed on her bottom lip. A nightly trip with Le Paon.. was that allowed? His stopping by seemed to be stepping over the boundaries as it was.. 

Then again, he _was_ already in her house. What could a small run hurt? 

“Okay,” She finally said, “but you better not drop me.”

Le Paon laughed and pushed his covers aside. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

They both climbed up the two ladders to the balcony, where Marinette found a soft, warm breeze blowing through the night air. 

“So..” She began, glancing at Le Paon as he weaseled his way through the trap door. “How are we going to..” She trailed off, gesturing between Le Paon and herself. 

Le Paon hesitated. “Oh, well.. I was just going to.. You know..” 

A gasp escaped her lips as he scooped her up bridal style. 

“Is this alright?” He asked, his breath brushing against her skin.

Marinette nodded dumbly, choosing _not_ to think about how warm her cheeks felt or why her heart was hammering against her chest.

“Hold on tight.” He murmured as he took a step back. Marinette wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, though not too tight. 

Le Paon leaped off the balcony a few seconds later, bringing another gasp from her. They practically _floated_ in the air as he sailed from rooftop to rooftop. His movements were so precise and fluid, Marinette almost didn’t feel the need to hold onto him.

Almost.

Climbing the Eiffel Tower was definitely the best part of the trip. That’s when she _knew_ they were floating. Le Paon never took his hands off of her as he scaled the tower, using long, drawn-out jumps to get to the top.

“Voila.” He smiled, gracefully landing on the tip of the Eiffel Tower. 

Marinette giggled and looked around, surveying the view she’d enjoyed with her partner many nights during patrols. “It’s beautiful.”

“I know.” Was Le Paon’s soft reply.

She glanced up at him, only to find him staring right back at her.

“Y-You’re not looking at the city.” She stuttered, suddenly _very_ aware of the fact that he was still holding her in his arms.

“Ah,” He murmured, dragging his eyes down towards the buildings below, “I suppose I’m not.”

Marinette pursed her lips, if only to avoid letting out an extremely embarrassing squeak. What was that about?

She turned to the city as well, watching some of the lights flicker out on a few buildings. Everything was so serene and delicate. It was hard to believe monsters such as akumas sprang up every few days.

“How long are we going to keep this up?” She asked, somewhat out of the blue.

Le Paon frowned. “What do you mean?”

Marinette sighed. “I love hanging out with you, but how long are we going to do this alone?”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“You need to talk to Ladybug.” She said, hoping her tone sounded more worried than stern. They can’t do this forever. Le Paon was sweet and kind, but he was still a danger to Paris. And she was still a protector of Paris. It was her duty as Ladybug to do what was best for the city.

His grip on her tightened. “You know I can’t do that.” 

“But you can terrorize a whole city?” Marinette replied. “I just- wouldn’t it be easier to talk things out with Ladybug instead of fighting non-stop?”

Le Paon sighed. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but it’s not that simple. Ladybug’s job is to catch the villains, not help them. She would never listen to what I have to say.”

Marinette barely resisted the urge to scream. The irony of the situation was incredibly irritating. “If you just gave her a chance-”

Le Paon jumped off the tower, causing her to scream slightly from shock. 

“What are you doing?” She asked, clutching his neck for safety.

“Taking you home. I think I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

Marinette winced. “No, that’s not what I-”

“I get it.” Le Paon insisted, though his pace quickened. “I know you’re trying to help.”

“Le Paon-”

Before she could even blink, they were back at her house, and he was gently setting her down on the balcony.

“Thank you for your hospitality.” 

Marinette called out his name, but he was already gone, bounding off across the rooftops and out of sight. 

She groaned, pulling at the tips of her ponytails. “Tikki, what am I going to do?” 

Her kwami flew through the trapdoor, coming up to pat her holder’s head. “What you can.” The tiny god said soothingly. “What you can.”

~~~~~~

Felix smacked the side of his head as he ran back to the mansion.

“Stupid!” He scolded. “Of course she would mention Ladybug at some point! Idiot!”

Felix didn’t blame Marinette in any way. He knew she was just trying to do the right. He blamed himself for abusing his miraculous to get closer to her, especially when he was also using the same miraculous for evil purposes. 

_Not evil._ He reminded himself. _Just as a last, desperate attempt._

He came to a halt on the rooftop next to his and Adrien’s shared bedroom and dragged his hands across his face. What a mess he’s made of things.

Felix turned to the window, about to calculate how easily he could get away with climbing into it, when something caught his eye.

Adrien was leaning in his rolling chair, casually talking to someone. That wouldn’t be so strange if it weren’t for the fact that his phone was still on the couch. Who could he be talking to?

Suddenly- Felix wasn’t sure if he was seeing correctly at first -a black ball bobbled through the air around Adrien. Upon closer inspection, Felix realized that it was something akin to a black cat. A black cat that eerily reminded him of Duusu. 

But that would be crazy. The only person who would have a cat kwami like that would be Chat Noir.

Unless..

Felix’s eyes widened, a sense of pure horror washing over him.

Was _Adrien_ Chat Noir?


	12. Chapter 12

Felix stumbled through the storage door, still reeling from shock. Adrien..his little brother.. The perfect ray of sunshine between them.. was Chat Noir. When did this happen? _How_ did this happen? How long had they been on opposing sides and he had no idea?

He absently climbed the mansion stairs and walked to his and Adrien’s bedroom door. Talking could be heard on the other side, mostly Adrien, but also a voice that Felix didn’t recognize.

Felix pushed open the bedroom door, and a blur of black flicked across the room, the same blur he’d seen a few weeks ago. It makes more sense now.

“Oh, Felix, you’re back. I was wondering where you went.” Adrien said casually, leaning back in his rolling chair with a smile.

Felix only stared at first. A part of him still didn’t want to believe- didn’t want to _accept_ -that Adrien could be Chat Noir. The universe couldn’t possibly be that cruel.

And yet, Adrien looked all too nervous as Felix asked, “Did you see that?”

“See what?” Adrien replied, shifting ever so slightly in his seat.

“That black blur.” Felix muttered, idly glancing around the room despite knowing- deep down -what it really was.

“O-Oh, um-” Adrien fumbled for words, the same way he’d occasionally faltered for the last few months. Felix never thought much of it. _Why_ hadn’t he thought much of it?

“I-I didn’t see anything.” Adrien finally said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe it was just a trick of the mind? You know, you think the lights black out for a second, but really it’s your eyes?”

Again, Felix could only stare. How long had Adrien been hiding this? How long had he been lying straight to Felix’s face? Granted, Felix wasn’t guiltless either, but he thought he knew his little brother better than this. He should have seen the signs, should have known something was up.

“Yes, you’re probably right.” Felix mumbled, turning to the TV simply because he couldn’t look at Adrien anymore. What would Mother say if she could see them now?

What was Father going to say?

Felix sucked in a breath.

Adrien was Chat Noir, one of the two people keeping their Father- keeping _Hawk_ _Moth_ -away from the wish, the wish that they needed to get Mother back. 

This whole ordeal was supposed to be about bringing their family back together, but now, family was the very thing standing in the way. 

So, Felix supposed as he got ready for bed that night, the new revelation of Adrien’s alternate identity left one, major question: Exactly how far was Father willing to go to get that wish?

~~~~~~

Felix felt his breath hitch as he stopped in front of their Father’s office doors. After a restless night of worrying and thinking and internal screaming, he’d decided to tell the truth about Adrien’s secret identity. Father had to know, right? Everything needed to be out in the open if they were going to get Mother back.

“Felix, are you coming? School’s going to start soon.” 

Felix glanced at Adrien, who was staring at him expectantly from the front door. 

“…you go on ahead. I’ll be out in a moment.”

Adrien shrugged and continued outside to the awaiting car, while Felix turned back to the office door.

_It’s now or never._

Tentatively, he knocked on the door. When a faint hum came from the other side, Felix lightly pushed open the door and walked inside. 

Gabriel stood at his computer as usual, completely disinterested in everything around him. He didn’t even pause his work until Felix cleared his throat.

“Yes, what is it?” Gabriel asked impatiently, not bothering to look up.

Felix faltered. “I.. Well.. It has come to my attention that..”

Gabriel rose a brow at him.

Felix swallowed.

“Never mind.” He said, shifting his gaze to the ground. “I’m sorry for interrupting.”

Telling Father about Adrien would only cause more unnecessary conflict amongst them. First he’ll get Ladybug’s miraculous, then he’ll try to convince Adrien to give up his.

~~~~~~

Marinette fiddled with her jacket nervously as she glanced at Alya, who was hiding with her in a corner of the hall. “Alya, I’m not sure about this.”

Alya merely waved a hand at her as she scanned the halls. “Oh, stop worrying. It’ll be fine.”

“But I still need to work on my dress for homecoming next week.” Marinette countered.

“You can work on it later. It’s practically finished anyway.” Alya replied, still staring at the other students. “Oh, there he is!”

“Alya-” Marinette yelped as Alya grabbed her wrist and dragged her across the hall. Felix and Adrien had just arrived, and her best friend seemed adamant about putting her “matchmaking plan” into action, so Marinette did her best to give a casual smile as they intercepted the Agreste brothers.

“Felix! Just the guy I wanted to see.” Alya greets, tugging Marinette to her side as they come to a stop.

Annoyance flicked across Felix’s expression, until his eyes landed on Marinette. She felt her heart skip a bit as the annoyance on his face immediately faded, replaced with something softer, and something else she couldn’t quite catch. 

“Marinette and I are going to the movies tonight with some friends.” Alya continued, slinging her arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “Would you like to join us? Adrien’s invited too, of course.”

Heat bloomed across Marinette’s cheeks. She’d actually forgotten that Adrien was standing there.

“Sounds like fun! What do you think, Fe?” Adrien asked, slinging his arm around Felix’s shoulders.

Felix’s gaze flicked between them with suspicion, before pausing on Marinette. She felt her breath hitch, her insides curling with anticipation. 

“I think we can find time in our schedule.” He answered.

Adrien and Alya both grinned.

“Great!” Alya cheered. “Meet us at Le Brady, seven o’clock sharp.” 

“We’ll be there.” Adrien assured.

Marinette gave a small, shy smile, suddenly _much_ more excited about the movies.

~~~~~~

Adrien stared at his brother’s reflection in the car window with a smug smirk. Felix looked a bit stiffer than usual, or even- dare he say it - _nervous_. His older brother never got nervous. Then again, he’d probably never fallen in love before. (And Felix was definitely in love with Marinette, of that Adrien was sure.)

“So, how _did_ you get Father to agree to the movies?” Adrien asked, turning to face Felix fully. “I thought he said that Marinette was a bad influence.”

“He did. That’s why we’re going to the movies with Allegra. Father can’t refuse us an evening with the diplomat’s daughter.” Felix replied coolly.

Adrien hummed. “Lying to Father now, huh? That’s a pretty desperate attempt to see Marinette, Fe.” 

Felix scoffed and shot him a look. “I’ve lied to him for _you_ before.”

“Yeah, but not for anyone else.” Adrien countered.

“I’ve never _had_ to lie for anyone else.”

“But would you?”

Felix narrowed his eyes. 

Adrien smirked. “Case in point.” 

The car rolled to a stop in front of the movie theater, and Adrien hopped out before Felix could retort anything. Whatever movie they were going to see, Adrien knew it wouldn’t be half as entertaining as watching Felix hang out with Marinette that evening.

~~~~~~

Marinette fixed the light pink flower pin that had been clipped into the left side of her hair for the third time since they entered the movie theater. She’d told Alya that dressing up wasn’t necessary, but all of the girls insisted that she looked nice for her “date”.

 _“It’s not a date!”_ Marinette had argued.

 _“Well, it might as well be.”_ Alya had retorted. _“He obviously likes you.”_

Marinette was still blushing from that comment. Especially now, when the boy in question was sitting right beside her. Alya fought tooth and nail to have them sit together (to no one’s surprise). She even went so far as to separate the rest of the group’s seats so that Felix and Marinette were on the other side of the theater, alone.

She stole a small glance at Felix, who was calmly watching the previews ahead of them. He had to know what Alya was trying to do at this point, right? Was he _okay_ with the relentless matchmaking, or did it make him uncomfortable? How does he feel about it all?

How does _she_ feel about it all? 

“This is my first time in a movie theater.” 

Marinette blinked, her flurry of thoughts dissipating at Felix’s comment. This was his first time in a movie theater? For some reason, that didn’t shock her as much as it probably should have.

“Oh really? Why’s that?” She asked politely.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he shrugged. “It was always too much of a hassle. By the time we got to the theater room, Adrien would be crowded with fans.”

Marinette nodded. That made sense. “How did you escape the paparazzi tonight?”

A mischievous gleam came to his silver eyes. “Adrien posted a picture of himself at a cafe half way across Paris. No one will be bothering us for a while.”

Marinette chuckled, wondering how they were able to pull that off. It sounded like quite a feat. “Well, I’m glad you guys were able to make it.”

“So am I.” 

The previews finally subsided about five minutes later, and the movie started playing on the big screen. Marinette watched it for the first twenty minutes, but the more she watched, the more she disliked. The actors were constantly staring straight at the camera, and the plot was a mess. How do movies like these make it to theaters?

“Who authorized the release for this?” Felix mumbled next to her, causing Marinette to perk up.

“I know right? It’s like they picked a few people off the street and threw them into a shaky storyline.” She whispered, slumping into her seat slightly. Was Alya watching the movie too, or was she too focused on Nino?

Felix sat up slightly and glanced towards the back of the theater, where the rest of the group was. “Why don’t we skip? Surely, there’s something more entertaining we can do.”

Marinette’s eyes widened with surprise. She’d always assumed that Felix would be a stickler for the rules. “What would we do?”

Felix tilted his head back and forth in thought. “We could go get ice cream? I didn’t get to accompany you and the others yesterday.”

A bashful smile found its way onto her lips. The fact that he was inviting her to go get ice cream despite not liking sweets warmed her from the inside out. “Are you sure you don’t want to get something else?”

“I’ll be fine.” He said with a slight wave of his hand. “Are we going then?”

Marinette’s gaze flicked to the back where Alya and the others were sitting. They were all engrossed in the movie, except for Adrien, who seemed to be looking in their direction with some sort of smile. (Though it could be the lighting.)

“Yeah. Let’s go.” She decided, quietly slipping her purse back on.

Felix nodded, and they carefully crept out of the auditorium together, both hoping their respective “chaperones” didn’t notice their disappearance.

Thankfully, no one did- to their knowledge -and Felix and Marinette got to stroll right out of the movie theater.

“Is there a specific ice cream parlor you’d like to visit?” Felix asked as they walked outside.

Marinette shook her head, taking in a deep breath as the night air hit her face. It was a warm evening, save for the occasional cool breezes that passed by. The sun had just dipped down into the horizon, so a bit of light remained in the sky, but that didn’t stop the Paris street lights from brightening the blocks as well. Marinette didn’t mind, though. She rather liked the soft glow that the street lights provided.

“I saw a post a while ago about Andre being around here. Maybe he’s still in the area?” She suggested, turning right.

Felix followed. “Who’s Andre?” 

Marinette gasped. “You don’t know who Andre is?” 

“..I don’t get out often.” Felix muttered, flicking his gaze to the road.

A small chuckled passed her lips. “It’s not a bad thing, I’m just surprised. But now we _have_ to go see him.” She grabbed his hand with a grin and started tugging him along. “We might have to run, though.”

Felix didn’t respond, prompting Marinette to look back at him. He was staring at their joined hands, a deep blush shrouding his cheeks.

Marinette flushed at the sight. She had gotten excited and didn’t think about the fact that she was grabbing _Felix Agreste’s_ hand. Now they were holding hands, and her heart was pounding in her chest, and worst- best? -of all, she didn’t want to let go. 

“I-If you want to, that is.” She added, forcing herself to loosen her grip on his hand.

Her stomach flipped when he squeezed her hand in retaliation.

“Uh- no. No, I don’t mind.” Felix finally said. “Lead the way.”

Marinette, not trusting herself to speak lest she fall into a stuttering mess, nodded and pulled out her phone with her free hand to find Andre’s current location. It was harder to find at night time, but as luck would have it, someone posted a picture with Andre near the Pontes De Arts. 

They wandered around the streets in that direction, and Marinette tried not to focus on Felix’s touch, or how electrifying it was. She’d held onto him like this before, once at the ice rink and once at the mansion, but this time was different somehow. Instead of nervousness or hesitance, she felt this giddy excitement that buzzed in her chest and coiled through her stomach. The way his hand shifted in hers to intertwine their fingers together gave her a rush of ecstasy, and Marinette found it positively addicting. She couldn’t help wondering how she would feel if they were just a little bit closer. How much would this strange ecstasy spread within her if Felix were to pull her against him, run his fingers through her hair, and-

“Is that him?” 

Marinette jumped, a harsh blush exploding across her cheeks as reality set back in again. “S-Sorry?”

“Andre.” Felix elaborated, pointing towards the end of the street. “Is that him?”

Marinette followed his finger to a man at the end of the block who was pushing along an ice cream cart and joyfully whistling to himself. “O-Oh, um, yes. That’s him.” 

Felix smiled. “Do we just walk up to him?” 

Marinette returned his smile. “Yep! He gives everyone special ice creams for free.”

“That’s not a very sound business practice.” Felix commented. “Wait, special? Special how?”

“Well..” Marinette twirled one of her pigtails on her finger. “He claims to hand out ice creams that represent your true love, and I have to admit, he’s accurate more often than not.”

Felix hummed. “That’s something I’d like to see.” 

Marinette chuckled, and they made their way over to Andre, catching him at the end of the block.

“Ah! Such a lovely couple on a nightly stroll! I shall fix you a tasty ice cream to enjoy while you’re out!” Andre beamed, moving to get some blue raspberry ice cream.

“Oh no-” Marinette sheepishly interrupted “-We’re- We’re not a couple.”

Andre paused, a slight frown tugging at the corner of his lips. “ _Not_ a couple? But I can see you two are bursting with love for each other! You’re even holding hands.” 

Felix and Marinette immediately pulled their hands away from each other, their cheeks flushing a deep scarlet.

“J-Just one ice cream please.” Marinette said, her voice anything but leveled.

Andre sighed, but gave her a cone of cotton candy and banana ice cream.

“Thank you.” She mumbled as she took the cone.

“Some for you as well?” Andre inquired, turning to Felix.

He shook his head. “No, thank you. I don’t fancy sweets. I’m only here for her.” 

For some reason, the comment resonated with Marinette, and she stared up at him, starstruck. Felix had come all this way just for her, and though it may seem like a small gesture, it was one of many. He’s taught her how to paint, given her support in her passions, and offered to help with school projects without ever asking for anything in return. 

And Marinette, as she’s watching Felix talk with Andre, was struck with a sudden, yet painfully obvious realization:

She liked Felix. She really, really liked him.

“Well, I’m off to spread more love and joy around Paris! Have a wonderful evening lovebirds!” Andre called as he walked off.

“We’re not..” Felix started to correct, before shaking his head and deciding it wasn’t worth it. He then turned back to Marinette. “How’s the ice cream?”

Marinette, being the eloquent girl she is, only stared at him. She was simply mesmerized. By his slight, contented smile, by the gentle sway of his bangs in the evening breeze, by the specks of blue she hadn’t noticed in his shining, silver eyes until the street lights hit them just right, by him. Just standing next to him was enough to take her breath away. How had she been so blind to him before? 

Marinette’s thoughts were interrupted by the abrupt realization that he’d asked her a question, and she scrambled to remember what it was. “Uh- s-sorry -the ice cream? It’s- um-”

“Oh, your flower.” Felix spoke up, graciously cutting her off.

“M-My flower?” Marinette echoed, absently reaching up to touch the hair piece.

He nodded. “Yes, it’s crooked. Here, let me..” 

Marinette’s breath hitched as he took a step towards her, but remained still. Felix unclipped the flower, causing some of her bangs to fall across her face, and clipped it again in a tighter position.

“There.” He murmured, brushing a bit of her bangs aside. “Good as new.”

Marinette opened her mouth to say “Thank you”, but of course, nothing came out. 

Everything in her froze as his eyes trailed down to meet hers. They were mere inches apart now, so close that she could smell the faint scent of books from his time in the library. 

Felix’s hand brushed against her cheek, and she leaned into his touch.

“Marinette.” His whisper sent shivers down her spine. She closed her eyes, reveling in everything that was him.

Felix leaned forward- she could feel his chest press closer against her -but before their lips met, a rumbling shook the ground beneath them. 

The two tensed, and Marinette’s eyes snapped open. 

“Any chance that’s just an earthquake tremor?” She mumbled, scanning the Parisian streets. 

“Probably not.” Felix replied, glancing around as well.

Another rumble shook the streets, this time larger. Then, an ear piercing roar split the sky.

Marinette sighed. “I didn’t think so.” 

Of course an akuma would come right now. When _else_ would an akuma come? Surely not when she actually had _time_ to fight it. That would be ridiculous.

“You should go.” She said, putting a hand on Felix’s shoulder. “Get to safety.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Felix replied firmly. 

Marinette held back a grimace. She had a feeling he’d say that. “Someone needs to go warn the others.”

Felix tisked and scanned the block again. “Alright, you go find shelter in there. I’ll go warn them.” 

Marinette wanted to argue, but splitting up was the best option if she was going to transform. “Be careful.”

His eyes settled on hers. “You too.”

Then they ran.

~~~~~~

Le Paon jumped across the rooftops towards the akuma, harshly cursing his luck. He’d gotten _this_ close to kissing Marinette! Their lips were practically touching when that- that _thing_ came onto the scene!

And what a thing it was. He’d honestly thought that the akuma was a building at first. It towered over the streets, breaking apart everything in its path. The deep purple tint of the creature even blended perfectly with the night sky. It’s beading, glowing blue eyes, however, did not.

 _How am I supposed to get the miraculous with this monstrosity?_ Le Paon thought, briefly pausing on a rooftop to catch his breath. Its ginormous claws could barely pick up a car let alone snatch a pair of earrings or a ring. 

He started running again, dearly wishing this rip-off Godzilla would start taking baby steps. It was clearing two to four blocks in one stride, and Le Paon just couldn’t keep pace. When was Father going to start thinking these akumas through?

In his haste to keep up with his impromptu partner, Le Paon didn’t notice the staff extending to the middle of his current rooftop. He hit the staff full force and cried out in pain as he skidded across the ground. 

“Oh~ that’s a nasty fall if ever I saw one.” Chat Noir mused behind him. “You might want to get some _tweet_ -ment for that.” 

Le Paon groaned, but not from the pain. Throwing the hero’s looks and voice aside, Felix should have recognized Chat Noir as Adrien sooner simply because they shared the same, horrible sense of humor.

Le Paon pushed himself to his feet, holding back a wince, and flicked his wrists to have his fans slide into his hands. He didn’t want to fight Adrien, but if he didn’t keep up appearances, Father would become suspicious. Felix needed to keep Adrien’s miraculous a secret, or rather, keep the fact that Felix _knew_ about Adrien’s miraculous a secret. Adrien seemed to be keeping the secret of his miraculous just fine.

“Let’s just get this over with fast.” Le Paon said, spreading out his fans.

Chat Noir shifted into a fighting stance. “My pleasure.”

So, to recap, Le Paon has to attempt to get Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous while also trying to communicate with the monster behind him to do so, _and_ while trying to avoid hitting Chat Noir- the guard dog -as much as possible.

That should be _easy_.

~~~~~

Felix slumped against a building wall as the magic from his miraculous melted off of his body. That was officially the _worst_ akuma attack he’d ever been involved in. The darn thing didn’t even serve its intended purpose. Felix spent more time avoiding the thing’s enormous, swinging arms than actually working with it. He didn’t even keep the heroes contained! Felix assumed that the monster would be able to help _somehow_ , but it just kept hitting Ladybug and Chat Noir away from him! 

Needless to say, Ladybug’s identity was still a mystery. Perhaps if Father started choosing more subtle or precise akumas, they would actually start getting somewhere.

Felix begrudgingly moved from the building wall to poke his head out of the alleyway he’d landed in. if the Miraculous Cure did its job properly- and it always did -Marinette and the others should be back at the movie theater. Well, Marinette might still be running to the theaters, but Felix should get there right when she does. 

After seeing the empty street, Felix started his walk back to the theaters. He would have run, but his legs already burned from how much jumping he did as Le Paon. Nevertheless, he was determined to get back to Marinette and make sure she was alright.

That is, until he heard it.

The sound was faint at first, but as Felix neared the end of the block, it grew louder. A moaning, old and rattling, was coming from one of the other alleyways. 

His footsteps lulled a moment as he curiously glanced down the different alleyways on the street. One, in particular, stuck out to Felix.

It was hard to catch at first, due to the street lamps being his only source of light, but Felix saw a man lying face down in the alleyway. The man was reaching for something and groaning quiet pleas for help.

“Sir?” Felix called, cautiously approaching the man. “Are you alright?”

“H…Help..me..” The man groaned. “My.. my staff.. They threw it..”

Felix looked around the alleyway and found a cane near the entrance. He quickly scooped it up and brought it back to the old man.

“Who threw it?” He asked as he helped the man to his feet.

“The muggers.” The old man rasped, gripping Felix’s shirt tightly to pull himself up. “They took everything I have, and now I can’t get home.” 

The old man slipped and fell against Felix, but Felix managed to catch him in time.

“All right, where do you live? I’ll call my driver to take you there.”

The old man looked up at him. “You will?”

Felix nodded. _So much for getting back to Marinette._

“Oh, thank you. I am forever in your debt.” The old man said.

Felix waved a hand. “Not at all. I’ll have to tell Father about this though. What’s your name?”

The old man smiled. “You can call me ‘Fu’.”


	13. Chapter 13

Felix stared up at the two story building as Fu hobbled forward to unlock the door. He had originally intended to call a cab and let the old man find his way from there, but Fu sheepishly admitted to not remembering the exact address of his house. So, Felix rode with him, and after twenty minutes of searching, they ended up here.

“You own a massage parlor?” He asked, noticing the small sign out front.

Fu nodded. “Yes, for many years now. It has been of great use to me.”

Felix didn’t respond, instead following the man inside once he unlocked the door. Someone with old joints like that must have trouble massaging others. Maybe he has employees? 

“I can’t thank you enough for helping me.” The old man began as he led them up a flight of stairs and through a hall.

Felix shrugged. “I couldn’t just leave you. It’s what anyone would have done.”

Fu stopped at a door towards the end of the hall and gave him a smile. “You live to be my age, and you’ll know that not just anyone would stop to help a random stranger.”

Felix furrowed his brows at the knowing look in the man’s eyes. Was there something he was missing?

“…If you’re all set here, I should be getting back to the theater. Adrien will be waiting for me.” Felix said, moving towards the stairs. He didn’t like the sudden feeling of exposure that this man was giving him.

“Oh, please, let me repay you somehow.” Fu requested. “I don’t have much money, but perhaps I could give you a soothing cup of tea?” 

Felix rose a brow, hesitant, but ultimately sighed. Repayment wasn’t necessary, since they lived in a mansion, but with everything that’s happened lately, maybe he _needed_ some soothing tea. “One cup, and then I really should get going.”

“Wonderful.” Fu smiled as he pushed open a door and walked inside. “I already have a heated pot of water on the stove.”

Felix followed him into the room and sat on the mat that was in the middle of the floor that Fu pointed out to him. 

“I’ll go get the cups and pot.” Fu remarked, before strolling back out of the room. 

Felix simply nodded, taking the time to observe his new surroundings. The room was nearly bare, but it provided an open, calming space that helped him relax. A phonograph sat on one of the dressers in the room, which Felix found quaint. Not many people owned a phonograph now-a-days.

He stood up and walked over to the music player. The craftsmanship seemed to be delicate yet detailed, something he could admire. There were even strange, red symbols lining the sides of it. 

“It’s an antique.”

Felix whirled around to see Fu standing in the doorway, cups and teapot in hand.

“It’s exquisite.” Felix found himself replying.

Fu nodded and walked forward to place the teapot and cups on the mat. “It is a treasure that has been passed down through many generations.”

Felix rejoined the man and sat back down on the mat. “You’re very lucky to have it, then.”

Another smile crossed Fu’s lips as he poured some tea. “Yes, I know. I’m happy that it’s managed to remain undamaged during these akuma attacks.”

“Yes, the Miraculous Cure is a wonderful thing.” Felix said in a leveled tone, taking the cup of tea that Fu offered.

Fu hummed. “Indeed. I wonder when the attacks are going to stop.”

“One can only guess.” Felix muttered into his tea cup. In all honesty, he’d like to know when the attacks were going to stop as well. How long will he have to fight his own brother? How long will Marinette and numerous others be put in constant danger for the sake of one person?

“What _is_ your guess?” Fu asked, taking a sip of his own cup of tea.

Felix faltered. “Uh- I can’t say for certain, but I suppose it’ll end when Ladybug takes down Hawkmoth or when Hawkmoth gets the miraculous.”

“And what of Le Paon?”

His grip on the tea cup tightened. “…Well, he works for Hawkmoth.. So it’s only fair that he’s taken down with him.”

Fu nodded. “That is true. He does work for Hawkmoth, but I’ve seen him save lives too.”

Felix cast his gaze to the floor. “Yes, he’s saved people, but only from the damage he’s caused.”

“From the damage _Hawkmoth_ has caused.” Fu corrected. “Perhaps Le Paon has a reason for joining the terrorist’s side, hm? We cannot judge a book by its cover.”

Felix met Fu’s eyes again at that. Aside from Allegra and Marinette, he hadn’t seen anyone else defend his alternate identity. It was surprising, to say the least.

“Perhaps..” Felix murmured. He then set his cup aside and stood. “Thank you for the tea, but I need to get going. It was nice meeting you.”

“Are you sure you can’t stay longer?” Fu asked as Felix walked to the door.

“Unfortunately, yes. I’m sure. Have a nice evening.” 

Felix turned to go down the hall, when Fu called out his name again.

“I believe this is yours?” The man said, holding something out to him.

Felix’s eyes widened as he saw his peacock pin in the man’s palm. 

His hand shot to his chest, feeling the empty space where his miraculous used to be. How did it fall off? Why didn’t he notice when it did?

“Oh, um, y-yes. Thank you.” He fumbled, taking the pin back. Thank goodness the man realized it was Felix’s. If he had gone home without the peacock miraculous, Father surely would have been furious.

Fu smiled. “Enjoy your ride home.”

~~~~~~

Gabriel tapped his fingers together as he sat in his chair, his thoughts raging. That monster should have given Ladybug and Chat Noir plenty of distractions when it came to damage control and protecting the citizens. Felix should have had every chance to get at least _one_ of their miraculous, and yet, Le Paon barely got away with his own! He just _danced_ around the heroes like some _game_! 

On top of that, Felix hasn’t returned home from the movies yet, despite the fact that Adrien has. 

Gabriel’s office door cracked open, and he shot it a glare as Nathalie slipped inside. 

“Well? Is he back yet?” He asked sharply. 

“He’s about five minutes away.” Nathalie answered. “He claims to have stopped to help an old man who got mugged.”

Gabriel rose a brow. “Claims?”

“Well, Gorilla wasn’t with him, sir. We can’t be sure what happened.” She replied, her expression ever-so-neutral.

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed with disapproval. “Nathalie, I’m aware that you don’t trust Felix, but he is my son. If he says he was helping someone, then he was.” 

Nathalie nodded. “Of course, sir.”

A flash of light passed the window, causing the two to pause.

“That should be him.” Nathaniel murmured.

“Send him in.” Gabriel ordered, gesturing for her to leave.

Nathaniel nodded again and swiftly left the room to collect his son. 

A few minutes later, Felix was standing before him with enough audacity to look Gabriel in the eyes as if he had done nothing wrong.

“You called for me, Father?”

Gabriel gave him a steely look. “You’re late.”

“I had to help an old man on my way back to the theater.” 

“So I’ve heard.” Gabriel responded curtly. “But that’s not the main issue here. Care to explain your performance tonight as Le Paon?”

Felix didn’t so much as flinch, and it only enraged Gabriel more. 

“I did the best I could with the circumstances you provided.” His son replied coolly.

“That monster was a perfectly capable distraction-”

“To both the heroes _and_ myself.” Felix interjected.

Gabriel scoffed. “Aside from the monster, you still avoided the heroes’ advances, or rather Chat Noir’s.”

Felix stiffened, proving Gabriel’s statement correct. He _had_ been avoiding Chat Noir. But why?

“..Where are you going at night?”

Felix blinked. “What?” 

“ _Where_ are you _going_ at _night_?” Gabriel repeated forcefully. First the late night outings, then the purposeful evasion- something _had_ to be going on. Was he talking with the heroes? Were they trying to turn his own son against him? “Nathalie’s shown me the video surveillance of you leaving as Le Paon without my permission. Where have you been going?”

Despite his son’s obvious efforts, Gabriel could see the panic on Felix’s face. What had he been doing that would warrant such nervousness?

“I..” Felix paused. “I didn’t think you would approve.”

“ _Approve_ of _what_?” Gabriel bit off.

“Patrols.” His son spit out hastily. “I didn’t think you’d want Le Paon roaming around at night in case someone spotted him, but I knew that Ladybug and Chat Noir would roam the streets at night too. I figured that I might be able to get the jump on one of them at some point.”

Nathalie scoffed behind them, but the way she froze when they turned to her gave Gabriel the impression that she hadn’t meant to be heard. 

“So you’re going on Patrols?” Gabriel asked, turning back to Felix with a suspicious expression.

“That’s the truth.” Felix said calmly. “But if you don’t believe me, feel free to take the pin back.”

Nathalie, to no one’s surprise, eagerly reached forward to take the miraculous, but Gabriel held up his hand to stop her. 

“That’s not necessary. Just make sure to check in with me before doing something flaunting your miraculous around again.” 

Felix nodded. “Of course.”

Gabriel stared at him for a moment, searching for a crack in the boy’s facade. 

Felix stared right back, unblinking, as if he was challenging Gabriel to find something else underneath his words. 

“You may go.” Gabriel finally remarked, waving him away.

Felix didn’t hesitate. He whirled around on his heel and strolled right out of the room. Gabriel wasn’t sure if that meant his son was eager to escape or simply had other things to do.

“You’re just going to let him go?” Nathalie asked incredulously.

“Is there some other action you think I should have taken?” Gabriel shot back. His secretary had become rather outspoken over the last few months.

“Oh- I don’t know -take his _miraculous_ maybe?” She remarked, utterly bewildered towards his reactions.

Gabriel sighed. “That is _enough_ , Nathalie. I will not sit and listen to you denounce my son so openly. You are dismissed.”

Nathalie opened her mouth to argue, but smartly thought better of it. She gave him a stiff nod and exited the room quietly, though he swore he could hear grumbles out in the hall afterwards.

Gabriel ran a hand over his face with another sigh. The possibility that Felix might have secretly joined the heroes both infuriated him and made him sick. Was Felix a traitor to their family? Or was he doing more than Gabriel could see? Time could only tell, he supposed. Once he got the miraculous, had Ladybug on her knees, they would see who’s side Felix was truly on.

~~~~~~

Marinette fluffed out the ruffles on her light pink dress to get a good look at them. They seemed poofy enough, and the black lining definitely made the light pink tips pop. A few more tweaks for the flower patterns, and it should be good to go!

“You know, I just don’t get it.” Alya said as she draped herself across Marinette’s chaise.

“What’s that?”

Alya held up her phone, showing Allegra’s blog “Birds of a Feather”. “How can so many people enjoy this blog? It’s glorifying one of Paris’ biggest threats!”

“He’s not all bad.” Marinette felt compelled to say. “He’s saved me on multiple occasions.”

 _And done a few other things_. She refrained from adding. He still hadn’t come back to visit her after that night on the Eiffel Tower.

Alya looked at her like she had two heads. “You’re _defending_ him?”

“I-I’m just saying-”

“He’s working with _Hawkmoth_!” Alya said emphatically, flailing her arms a bit.

“Maybe he has a reason?” Marinette replied sheepishly.

_Like his mother being in an incurable coma._

Alya shook her head. “I get that he saved you, and that was nice of him and all, but he’s still helping a terrorist. Whatever reason he has shouldn’t take precedence over the lives of other innocent people.”

Marinette gave a nod, though she couldn’t find it in herself to completely agree. Le Paon’s choice of action wasn’t the best, but he only wanted his mother back. He wasn’t _trying_ to destroy the city of Paris. His saving the civilians even when it put his chances of getting the miraculous in jeopardy proved that. Le Paon- or Hawkmoth -merely chose a horrible way to get the wish they needed.

Alya set her phone down with a sigh and shifted on the chaise to face Marinette. “Anyway, are you ready for tomorrow? It’s a big day.”

“I think so. You might have to help me fit the dress a bit, but other than that-”

“That’s not what I meant.” Alya interrupted before Marinette could ramble any further.

Marinette somewhat glanced to her right in a lazy attempt to look over her shoulder. “We’re talking about Homecoming, right?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Alya drawled, “but I’m also talking about who will be there. Like a certain someone named ‘Felix Agreste?”

Marinette paused to avoid stabbing herself with the needle.

“What about him?” She asked, all too aware of her voice being an octave too high.

Alya smirked. “Don’t play _dumb_. You know _exactly_ what I’m talking about. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t refuse to tell me what happened between you two last week during the movies.”

“ _Nothing_ happened.” Marinette replied, continuing her work as her cheeks burned. Granted, something _almost_ happened, but something _almost_ happening and something _actually_ happening are two completely different things. 

Not to mention, she didn’t even see him for the rest of the evening. By the time she got back to the theater, Adrien was telling everyone that Felix wouldn’t be back because of some old man that needed help on his way home. (A noble pursuit, mind you, but that didn’t ease the nerves that swirled in the pit of her stomach later that night. Did he regret it? Was it only a heat of the moment thing, and he didn’t actually love her? Would they even talk about it at some point? One could only guess.)

“If nothing happened, you would tell me!” Alya countered.

“I _did_ tell you. The movie sucked, so we went for ice cream instead. That was it.” Marinette said, hoping Alya would just accept that answer for once. 

It’s not that she didn’t want to talk about it. She did. Almost kissing Felix left butterflies in her stomach and a wonderful warmth in her chest, but Alya would blow everything out of proportion. Due to the craziness of the upcoming dance, school work, and being Ladybug, Marinette hasn’t gotten to talk with Felix yet about the “almost kiss”. She hasn’t gotten to talk with him about anything, really. Telling Alya would only cause unnecessary pressure. 

Alya sighed. “Well, what _ever_ happened last week, you’ll definitely be seeing him tomorrow night. You might even get to dance.”

Marinette bit her lip to avoid squeaking. Felix? Dancing with _her_? The very thought sounded heavenly.

“So, I’ll ask you again: Are you ready for tomorrow night?”

“I.. I don’t know.” She answered honestly. _Was_ she ready? What if they _did_ dance tomorrow night? What if they didn’t? What if he avoided her the entire evening because of the ice cream incident? 

What if they actually kissed?

Alya smiled and knelt down next to her, placing a comforting arm on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, girl. We’ll get you ready. When Felix sees you tomorrow, he’ll be so love struck that he’ll _have_ to dance with you.”

Marinette giggled despite herself, because the thought of Felix being head over heels in love with her like that sounded too good to be true. 

Nevertheless, she smiled. “If you say so.”

“I _know_ so.” Alya replied with a wink.

The two shared a small laugh, but as Marinette went back to sewing the finishing touches of her dress, Alya’s question continued to turn in her mind.

Was she ready to face Felix again?

Guess there was only one way to find out.

~~~~~~

Felix straightened his tie as he got out of the car and brushed off his suit coat. He’d never attended a homecoming dance before, but Allegra said it was somewhat similar to an informal ball or party. Hopefully the gym wouldn’t be too crowded.

Adrien gave him a light nudge as they started up the school steps. “Are you nervous?”

Felix frowned. “Of course not. Why would I be nervous?”

“Oh, no reason.” His brother replied with a shrug. “It’s just that Marinette’s going to be there.”

Felix turned his head slightly to avoid giving Adrien the satisfaction of seeing him blush. “And?”

Adrien smirked. “ _And_ she’ll probably be all dressed up and looking awfully beautiful. Are you going to ask her to dance?”

“That is for me to know, and you to find out.” Felix answered flatly.

Adrien chuckled. “I still don’t know why you’re so defensive about your crush on her.”

“I’m not defensive about it-” Felix stopped short, but it was too late. 

Adrien’s grin turned Cheshire-like. 

“ _Not_ defensive about it, you say?” His brother nearly purred. “So you _do_ have a crush on her then?”

Felix groaned. “Can we just go inside?”

“That’s not a no~.” Adrien sang.

Felix smacked him, but Adrien only snickered as they continued inside the school. 

Though most of the lights were dimmed, Felix could hear the beat of the music and see the occasional flash of light from the gym. Echoes of laughter grew as they made their way to the decently-sized crowd at the center of the school, and soon, the two were merging with the other students under the red, green, and blue strobe lights. Adrien smoothly joined his classmates, while Felix opted to linger on the edge of the crowd. The atmosphere was a bit too loud for his liking, and the flashing lights prevented him from differentiating Allegra and the others from the rest of the people.

Felix took a small cup of punch from the refreshments table- which was also on the edge of the crowd -and enjoyed a few sips of the pink drink. Unfortunately, the lemony taste didn’t soothe his nerves. 

He knew he shouldn’t be nervous, because Marinette would never be anything remotely close to cruel, but they still hadn’t talked about the kiss that almost happened last week. Between his school, the new fashion line that he’s had to help supervise, and Adrien’s shoots, Felix has barely had enough time to even _look_ in Marinette’s direction. (Though that never stopped him from doing so.) 

Father’s punishment for sneaking out was certainly severe, more so than he probably knew. With the extra security surrounding Felix now-a-days, his nightly visits to Marinette as Le Paon were also impossible. He hated not being able to see her more.

Someone stopped next to him at the punch table, but he didn’t realize who it wasn’t until they poked him to get his attention.

“Why am I not surprised that you’re hiding in the back?” Allegra teased.

“It’s called ‘skillful evasion’.” Felix corrected, a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

Allegra snorted. “Sure it is. How long have you been here?”

“We’ve only just arrived.”

She nodded. “That’s good. Marinette’s here, you know.” 

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Felix grumbled, despite knowing full well the reason behind the comments.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Allegra began sarcastically with a roll of her eyes, “Maybe it’s because you texted me to ask if you could use me as an excuse to see her, or maybe because you haven’t been able to stop staring at her since then. Or-”

“ _Alright_ , alright. Point taken.” Felix cut in with a glare.

Allegra smirked. “She looks stunning. You should really go talk to her.” 

Felix glanced down at his cup as he leaned back against the punch table, not replying. He _should_ go talk to her. But how? He couldn’t just stroll up to her like nothing’s happened between them, right? How does one approach a situation like this, exactly?

Allegra heaved a playful sigh. “Alright, come on. Let’s go find her.” 

“What-” was all Felix got out before Allegra started tugging him through the crowd. 

“I thought I saw her over here somewhere.” Allegra muttered to herself as she pulled him along.

“Allegra, wait-” Felix tried to interject.

Allegra whirled around to face another direction. “Or was it over here?”

“You can’t just-”

“Hey! There you are!” Claude suddenly exclaimed next to them. “I’ve been looking for you, Fe.”

“Oh good,” Allegra smiled, “because we’re looking for Marinette. Any idea where she went?”

“Marinette?” Allan spoke up, popping up behind Claude. “I think I saw her with Alya next to the DJ booth under the hanging lantern things.”

“Perfect!” Allegra chirped. 

Felix jerked on his hand, to no avail. “Now, _wait just a minute_ -”

“Let’s go!” Claude cheered, gathering with Allan behind Felix. 

The three then proceeded to _push_ Felix to the other side of the gym. He struggled as best he could, but it was no use. The trio- specifically Allegra -had an iron grip on him. Felix was at their mercy.

A few of the students gave him odd looks for being shoved across the gym floor, but Felix was much more worried about Marinette’s familiar giggles growing closer and closer. 

Alya came into view, and with a final shove, the trio sent Felix stumbling towards the two girls. He flailed his arms a bit to regain balance, before shooting a glare at the three. They gave him a cheerful wave, but swiftly disappeared into the crowd again before he could chew them out.

 _One day.._ Felix thought to himself with a scowl as he straightened. _One day I’m going to get them back for all of these stunts._

“Felix?”

Felix grimaced at the voice he knew all too well. 

He turned to Marinette, ready to give some sort of greeting or apology, but when his eyes landed on her, any words that had been forming in his mouth promptly disappeared. 

Words couldn’t possibly describe how radiant she looked. Her light pink dress fluffed out around her with flowers peppered along the different pieces of fabric. The silver necklace hanging loosely around her neck brought attention to her creamy skin color, and her hair- oh her _hair_. In all the time he’d known her, Felix had never seen Marinette’s hair completely down. Now that he _had_ , however, he would gladly admit that it’s something he could never get tired of seeing. The lightness of the dress only accented her hair’s naturally dark color, and it looked as if the inky, night sky itself had decided to curl around her shoulders that evening.

“I…” Felix cleared his throat. “I see you finished the dress.”

A light blush dusted her cheeks. “I did. Do you like it?”

She took the tips of two of the ruffles and did a small twirl. The back of the dress, he realized, dropped low, almost reaching the middle of her back.

Felix swallowed. 

“It’s stunning.” _You’re stunning._

Marinette smiled brightly, and Felix swore he felt dizzy. “Thanks! The patterns were a nightmare to get, but I like the way they turned out.”

“So do I.” Felix said. “You did a fantastic job.” 

“Didn’t she?” Alya suddenly spoke up, wrapping an arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “I told her it looked great. Oh!-” Her gaze snapped upwards and a feigned look of concern crossed her features. “Is that Nino calling? I should go see what he wants. Have fun you two!” 

Alya gave Marinette a playful pat on the back that swiftly turned into a shove, and Marinette stumbled forward with a yelp.

Right into Felix’s arms.

Felix fell back a step as he wrapped his arms around Marinette to help balance her. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, sorry, I didn’t expect her.. too..” Marinette trailed off as she looked up at him, a heavy blush slowly forming across her cheeks.

Felix flushed too, because he knew exactly why she was flustered. They were- once again -pressed against each other, so close that he could almost lean forward to finish what they started last week.

Almost.

“It’s not your fault.” Felix said softly, loosening his grip on her.

Marinette straightened, and he reluctantly let his hands completely fall back to his sides. 

“Right..” She replied absently, still staring at him with a dazed look in her eyes. 

Felix offered a small smile, but he couldn’t help wondering what it meant for her to stare at him like that. Was she thinking about their almost-kiss too? Should he bring it up? 

~Alright, everyone, it’s now time to _slow down_!~ The Dj exclaimed over the speakers.

Their classmates cheered, and the strobe lights shut off, only for the pink lanterns above them to turn on. Soft music floated through the speakers, causing students around the room to pair up. 

Felix glanced at Marinette, who was now staring up at the red lanterns with awe. He cleared his throat to get her attention, and mentally crossed his fingers as he extended his hand to her. “Would you, um, would you do me the honor of having this dance with me?”

Felix winced at his wavering tone. Was that too formal? Could she tell he was nervous? He’s never actually asked anyone to dance with him before.. Maybe he should try again more casually-

The feeling of Marinette’s hand in his stopped his thoughts in their tracks.

“I would love to.” She said, a hidden layer of giddiness and bashfulness lacing her tone.

Felix’s smile as he pulled her close had to have been the goofiest expression he’d ever made, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Marinette was in his arms, and the way she giggled as they spun around the gym made him feel lighter than air. 

“I’ve never seen you wear a suit before.” Marinette commented after a few spins, rubbing her hand over his arm to feel the material. “It looks nice.”

“Thank you. It’s part of my Father’s brand, though. He’s always having us wear his things to promote the company.” Felix responded, holding her hand up so she could twirl again.

Marinette nodded thoughtfully before spinning out. “The design’s a bit plain for being part of the Agreste brand. If they wanted to promote it, they should have put a little twist on it to help stand out.”

Felix smirked as he pulled her back. “Are you _criticizing_ one of the top fashion designers?”

Marinette flushed a deep scarlet, almost missing his other hand when she crossed her arms to lean her back against his chest. “Uh- no, no! I mean- not necessarily _criticizing_ , I-I just-”

Felix laughed. “Don’t worry, I completely agree with your opinion. Father’s become lazy with the fact that he’s so famously known.”

Marinette let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah..”

“Maybe _you_ can make my suit next time I go to a formal event.” Felix then suggested, before spinning her back out.

He thoroughly enjoyed Marinette’s eyes blowing wide at the remark.

“Wait, really? You’d want me to?” She asked, shock written all over her face as she drew back into him at the end of the twirl.

Felix chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist once more. “Of course. Father would be furious, but I think it would be worth it.”

Marinette fell silent, which worried him. Did he say something wrong? Was she upset about the comment of his Father’s temper? 

A sniff came from her before his thoughts spiraled too far, and Felix froze as tears started to glisten in Marinette’s eyes. Was she _crying_?!

Before he could react, Marinette flew forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder.

“Thank you.” She said, her voice a bit muffled. “For being so supportive of me.”

Felix, though confused, relaxed a bit and hugged her back. “It’s the least I could do.”

“Well, it means more to me than you could ever know.” Marinette confessed. 

_You_ _mean more to me_ _than you could ever know._ Felix thought to himself, holding her a bit tighter. 

“It’s my pleasure to help you.” He said honestly.

A breath of a chuckle brushed his neck. 

“Even when you have to go out of your way to do it?” She asked lightheartedly.

Felix nodded. “I don’t mind going through a few obstacles to make your life easier, Marinette.”

After all, he would do anything for her, even if it meant giving up his Father’s approval, or giving up his carefully built freedom that came with it. 

That thought should terrify him, knowing someone could control him so easily, but who could possibly be afraid of those shimmering blue eyes?

Marinette lifted her head off of his shoulder, which he would have been disappointed about had she not grabbed his hand right after. “Let’s go get some strawberry lemonade. All of this dancing has made me thirsty.” 

Felix smiled. “Lead the way.”


	14. Chapter 14

Le Paon spread his arms out, inviting the full force of the wind with a smile as he soared over the Paris streets. The evening was perfect- a cloudless sky, a warm breeze, and a bubbly feeling in his chest that threatened to burst at any moment. **  
**

He never did end up talking to Marinette about their almost kiss, but the time he spent with her at home coming was just as great. They danced, they talked, and best of all, they were _undisturbed_. Not a single soul interrupted their time together, not even an akuma.

And now, Felix could only shout with joy as he ran to meet her as Le Paon. How he managed to escape Father’s new security was anyone’s guess, but he was out and that was all that mattered. 

Of course, after such a wonderful night, Le Paon needed to run off some of his excitement before visiting Marinette again. She might get suspicious if he suddenly appeared on her doorstep with a shining grin despite how their last rendezvous together ended.

Le Paon stopped on a small rooftop, watching a few people on the streets below. Sirens blared in the distance, but he didn’t pay it any attention until the flash of blue, white, and red caught the corner of his eye. There seemed to be a good few police cars gathering in one of the streets a few blocks away, which was odd. Le Paon didn’t hear any gunshots or alarms beforehand, so why would Police be called to that area? 

Curious, he took off across the rooftops again. It only took a minute for him to be right on top of them.

The sirens were still on when he got to the street with the police, so he could barely hear what anyone was saying, but they seemed to be talking about something rather important. 

Le Paon balanced himself on a chimney just above the cars and knelt down, hoping to get a better look. One police officer was talking to another officer that was slightly separated from the crowd. (perhaps that was the main officer?)

“What do we do if we find him?” The first officer asked, a tentative expression on his face.

“Take him into custody by any means necessary.” The main officer replied firmly. “That old lady’s sights may be nearly gone, but if she said he was here, we can’t risk ignoring it.”

“He”? Who’s he? Who were they looking for?

A few of the other officers glanced around the street, as if they were worried something might jump out to get them. Le Paon looked around too, but there was nothing. It was only them for the time being. Nevertheless, he’d like to know what had them so worried.

“Le Paon is dangerous. He hides in the shadows and attacks when you least expect it. Stay together and watch each other’s backs.” The main officer continued.

Le Paon’s eyes blew wide at the statement. Him? Attacking random citizens? That was ridiculous! He’d never hurt anyone if he could help it, and anytime he _did_ hurt someone, it was during the akuma attacks and completely accidental. Did Paris really think that he prowled around as a bloodthirsty monster for no reason? (not that he was a bloodthirsty monster either. That’s just what the news media liked to paint him as)

Before Felix could fully register the fact that _he_ was the one they were looking for and not some petty criminal, the main officer pointed upwards. “Watch the rooftops too. He’s been spotted up there the most.”

Le Paon’s blood ran cold as every single one of the officers’ eyes turned upwards, with quite a few landing on him directly. 

Guns were out and pointed at him in seconds, and Le Paon sprang to his feet from sheer panic. Unfortunately, that was enough for the police to start shooting. 

Bullets started flying past him, and Le Paon stumbled back. his foot slipped off the back of the chimney, causing him to flail his arms a bit for balance. This unfortunately allowed one of the bullets to graze his waist, pushing him back onto the rooftop below anyway. Le Paon hissed in pain, instinctively grabbing his side as his back hit the rooftop. The wound burned his skin with a sharpness that had him gritting his teeth. 

Bullets were still flying around him, but now they were hitting the chimney in front of him. The chimney wouldn’t last, though, and the police were bound to climb the building soon. He needed to escape, but how could he when his own blood was pooling around him and his vision was blurring from the pain?

Le Paon, through short breaths and groans, somehow managed to start pushing himself back. His strength was surprisingly intact, but he wasn’t sure if that was the adrenaline or the miraculous or both. 

He bit down hard on his lip as he forced himself to his feet, and the metallic taste of blood quickly started filling his mouth as well. Pain and agony overwhelmed his senses, but he drove it to the back of his mind as best he could. If he was taken now, he would never see Marinette again, and a life without Marinette.. well.. that was a life Felix didn’t care to live.

Le Paon threw himself into a sprint, despite his body screaming for him to stop, and jumped to the next rooftop. Then to the next. Marinette’s house was somewhere around here. He just needed to run far enough to get there.

~~~~~~

Marinette twirled around her room as she brushed her hair, remembering the way Felix held her as they danced. She never wanted to forget it.

“Oh, Tikki, I wish you could have seen it.” Marinette sighed wistfully. “He was so handsome in that tux, and the way he smiled at me just- _ugh_.” 

Tikki offered a sweet smile. “I’m glad you had a good time.”

Marinette chuckled. “I had the _best_ time. He even complimented my dress-” She gestured to her dress that was now draped across the chaise “-and asked _me_ to make his next suit! Felix really is wonderful.”

Tikki chuckled, but before she could reply, a thud came from the balcony.

Marinette’s eyes snapped upward, her grin growing. First, she got to have a grand evening with Felix, and now, Le Paon’s finally come back to see her! That landing was a bit rougher than usually, but undoubtedly him. No one else visited her at night via balcony.

She scrambled up to open the trapdoor, briefly thinking over the fact that she was currently dressed in pajamas. He probably wouldn’t mind, though. It was late.

Marinette pushed open the trapdoor with a smile, but whatever banter she was about to use died in her throat when she saw him. 

Le Paon was curled on the ground, a hand to his side and a scowl of pain on his features. Something was soaked into his clothes, and she felt a wave of panic at the thought of what it might be.

“L-Le Paon!” She said, shocked and worried and confused. How did this happen? Wasn’t the miraculous supposed to protect them? Did Hawkmoth lash out at him somehow? “What- what happened? Are you okay? Who did this to you?”

Le Paon twitched slightly, his glazed eyes rolling up to get a glimpse of her. He seemed on the verge of being delirious. “Police… guns.. I didn’t..”

Marinette gripped her shirt over her heart. The police? Did he have a run in with the police? Wait- had he been _shot_?!

“I’m taking you inside.” She said sternly, even though her hands were shaking. If he truly was covered in blood, she needed to clean it up and patch up the wound as soon as possible. Who knew how long he’d had the injury now?

Marinette wrapped her arms around Le Paon’s waist and tried to ignore his pained gasps as she tugged him downwards. 

_This is for his own good._ She told herself. _He’s going to be in pain no matter what you do._

As gently as possible, Marinette carried him to her bed- thank goodness for her Ladybug training -and carefully set him down across the sheets. Le Paon squirmed at first, but settled a few moments later.

“Stay right here.” Marinette instructed softly, even though it was clear that he wasn’t going anywhere. “I’m gonna get you a towel to help with the bleeding and then get some bandages.”

Le Paon managed a nod, and Marinette spared him a quick glance before rushing downstairs to her bathroom. She briefly wondered how she was going to explain all of the blood to her parents later, but that was a question for later. Right now, the main problem was Le Paon’s gunshot wound.

A _gunshot wound_! For Pete’s sake, how did he even get it? She thought the miraculous suits were supposed to protect them from the brunt of those things, though she’d never really been shot with a _bullet_ as Ladybug before either. How did he get here with that injury? Did he _run_ all the way there?

“Gosh, Le Paon..” She muttered to herself, yanking a towel from her sink cabinet. Should she call an ambulance? What would they do? He was technically a convicted criminal. Wasn’t that similar to turning him in?

Marinette climbed back up to her bed with towel in hand and quickly pressed it to Le Paon’s wound. 

“Keep it here to help stop the bleeding.” She told him, putting his hand over the towel. “I need to get bandages now.”

Le Paon just closed his eyes, which fueled Marinette to quicken her pace. She scurried down the steps again, heading back to the bathroom. She grabbed a small, silver tray along the way and dumped out the sewing contents on it. Her parents had given it to her from the bakery to help keep her pins together, but it should work to hold the medical supplies as well.

 _Bandages.. Bandages.._ She rummaged through the cabinets and drawers, finally finding a roll of bandages in the bottom left drawer. She then found a clean washrag and soaked it in water to clean the wound, along with another clean towel to dry the wound afterwards.

Once she had the necessary items, Marinette rushed back up the ladder to Le Paon. Panic spiked in her chest when she saw how limp he was, but a quick check of the pulse proved to simply be asleep.

“Probably passed out from blood loss.” She pondered aloud as she knelt beside him. 

The tray was set aside so she could pry away the bloodied towel. Thankfully, the bleeding had slowed, but she needed to work quickly so it wouldn’t get worse. Marinette lightly cleaned the bullet wound with the washrag, glancing at Le Paon every now and then to make sure he wasn’t in too much pain. Once the blood was cleared away and she could clearly see the wound, Marinette got to work wrapping the bandages around him. It was a bit difficult at first, since he was laying down, but with some coaxing, she got Le Paon to sit up in a near-asleep state so she could wrap the wound swiftly and efficiently. 

“Do you think that’s enough?” Marinette whispered to Tikki after a few minutes.

The kwami glanced over from her hiding spot behind a dresser and nodded. 

Marinette blew out a small, relieved sigh and cut the bandage strip before sticking it to the rest of the wrapping. “There. That should work for him until he can get back home.” 

_If he can_ get _back home._

Marinette gathered the medical supplies back onto the small tray she had and stood. He would probably be asleep for a while. She might need to get some extra blankets to sleep on the chaise tonight.

As she turned to go find some blankets and put up the tray, a frantic, high pitched beeping reached her ears. Marinette’s heart sank into her stomach when she realized what it was, all too late.

A flash of light illuminated the room, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Le Paon just detransformed. In her bedroom. Of all the places he could have detransformed, it just _had_ to be her bedroom.

A squeal-ish groan came from what Marinette assumed was the kwami. 

“I.. I think I’m just gonna take a small nap.” It said groggily. 

Curiosity urged Marinette to open her eyes, but she ignored it. She couldn’t see who Le Paon was, not without his permission. She’d want him to do the same, after all.

Marinette felt around the room so she could find the ladder, wondering how on earth she would get around with her eyes closed the whole night. Should she really _try_ to go down the ladder blinded? That didn’t seem like the best idea.. But could she trust herself not to look at Le Paon while her eyes were open?

A pained gasp sounded from behind her, and Marinette whirled around before she could think about what she was doing, eyes wide open to see what was wrong. 

And in all truth, there were _way_ too many things wrong with what she saw.

Felix Agreste, the boy she’d been pining over for a good few weeks now, was lying on her bed. 

The tray slipped from her fingers, clattering to the floor.

 _Felix Agreste_ , who she’d danced with that very night, who she almost _kissed_ a week ago, was _Le Paon_ , Paris’ most wanted villain, her most unusual house guest.

“I don’t..” Marinette put a hand to her head. “I don’t understand.”

Tikki was suddenly by her side, ancient eyes filled with worry. “Marinette-”

“How can-” Marinette stopped again to swallow down the lump in her throat. “-How can Felix be here? He can’t- He can’t _really_ be Le Paon, right? That’s not- that’s not possible.”

Tikki tried to say something else, but Marinette couldn’t stand long enough for the kwami to do so. Her legs buckled, causing her to stumble onto the ground next to the spilled medical supplies. 

It wasn’t possible. It _wasn’t_.

But there Felix was, still sleeping somewhat peacefully, still holding patches of blood from his gunshot wound. 

Oh gosh, _Felix_ got _shot_.

Marinette put a hand over her mouth, suddenly sick to her stomach. How did this happen? How did _he_ get the peacock miraculous? How long has he had it? Has she been fighting him as Ladybug this whole time?

Tears burned in the corner of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. This was not the time for grieving. Or rage. Or whatever emotional was swirling inside her. Felix or not- he was still injured horribly. She needed to stay focused.

..But how could she? How could she help him with a clear mind when she knew that the man who had been terrorizing Paris and the man she’d so desperately fallen in love with were one and the same? For Pete’s sake, she’s _fallen in love_ with Paris’ most wanted! What was she going to do? What was _he_ going to do once he woke up? Would he try to get rid of her now that she knew his identity? No, no, Felix wouldn’t do that, right? He wasn’t that kind of person.. But does she really know what kind of person he is anymore? He’s been hiding this for _months_ now. What else was he hiding?

Felix shuddered again, bringing her from her thoughts, and curled into himself with a grimace. 

_The pain must have increased when he detransformed._ Marinette thought with a slight frown. Should she help him? What could she do? If she tried to wake him up to take medicine, he would know that his identity’s been revealed, but if she left him alone, he might wake up from the pain anyway..

Tentatively, Marinette moved a bit closer to Felix’s side, watching. His chest rose as he drew in a deep breath, and he shifted to the side, causing his head to fall to the right towards her. It made her wish he were as innocent as he looked in that moment.

Marinette sighed and closed the distance between them to brush the pale, blonde wisps of hair out of his face. Felix might have been keeping his identity a secret, but she’d been keeping _her_ identity a secret too. Besides, it’s not like he could just up and tell her that he was a super villain, now, could he?

Marinette brushed her hand over his, hoping he wouldn’t wake up from it, and gave him a light kiss on the forehead. “I don’t know how you got into this mess, but I’m going to get you out. I promise.”

She was about to pull her hand away- didn’t want him waking up on her -but something else caught her eye first.

Another light, this time pink, flickering around his bandages. 

Marinette frowned, because Le Paon’s magic was blue, not pink. Was something wrong? What was the light doing around the bandages?

The light grew brighter, slowly but surely shining through each bandage wrapping around Felix’s injury. 

Marinette, now panicking, let go of Felix’s hand to inspect the spontaneous source of light, but as soon as she drew back, the light faded away. 

She sat there for a moment, dumbfounded and staring, wondering what she should do next. “What.. what was that?” 

Tikki gave her a knowing smile. “That was a part of your miraculous magic.”

Marinette blinked. Her _what_? 

“What are you talking about?” 

Tikki settled in the covers next to Felix. “When a new miraculous holder is chosen, they are partly fused with their miraculous and their kwami’s magic. It’s a minor effect that is necessary for you to transform.”

Marinette furrowed her brows. “So.. that bright light just now.. That was me?” 

“Yep!” A chipper voice spoke up before Tikki could reply. “And that was some of the best magic I’ve ever seen from a holder! They usually can’t unlock their true potential so quickly.”

Tikki and Marinette turned to see a blue and pink kwami sitting up on Felix’s stomach with a bright smile.

“O-Oh..” Marinette faltered. In the whole “Felix being Le Paon” ordeal, she’d forgotten about the other kwami that had flown from Felix’s miraculous when he detransformed. “Um.. hello. You’re Felix’s kwami, right?”

The being nodded. “That’s me! You can call me Duusu.”

Marinette offered Duusu a smile. “Nice to meet you. I’m Marinette.”

“I know who you are.” Duusu smiled. “My chosen _never_ stops talking about you.”

A heavy blush bloomed across Marinette’s cheeks. “F-Felix talks about me?”

Duusu nodded. “Only when he’s alone, though. My chosen doesn’t like being overheard.” 

“Oh..” She replied dumbly, still reeling from the fact that _Felix talks about her_. “That makes sense.”

“I’m sorry for not introducing myself earlier. Sustaining that bullet wound drained more of my energy than I’m used to.” Duusu apologized.

Marinette glanced down at the miniature god. “Oh, don’t worry! Is your energy still low? Do you want me to get you some snacks?”

Duusu’s eyes lit up. “Would you? I’m _famished_.” 

Marinette giggled and stood up. “Of course. Is there anything specific you want?”

“Truffles! You’re guys’ truffles are the best!” Duusu answered eagerly.

The image of Felix nervously waiting in their bakery for the first time flicked through Marinette’s mind, and she nearly face palmed. _That’s_ why he went to the bakery for truffles! 

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Marinette smiled, before racing down the ladder again. She didn’t want to leave Felix alone for too long, even if he was in the care of two ancient gods.

By the time she returned with a small plate of truffles and chocolate chip cookies, Tikki was also sitting on Felix’s stomach, next to Duusu.

“So, Tikki,” Marinette began as she handed them the treats, “You said the glowing light was part of the magic I inherited from you, but what did the magic _do_?”

Tikki hummed. “It’s hard to say. The Ladybug miraculous is the miraculous of life and creation. It can create things, reinvent things.. But judging by the way you seemed to use it, I would say it probably healed some of his bullet wound, or at least got the process started.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “You think so?”

Tikki nodded.

Marinette turned to the bandages. “.. Should.. Do you think we should check?”

“Unwrapping the bandages now might cause more damage if the wound didn’t actually heal..” Tikki replied thoughtfully. “It’s probably best if we leave it alone.”

“But I’m sure he’ll be grateful to you later if it is healed!” Duusu said helpfully.

Marinette froze. “You’re not gonna _tell_ him, are you?”

“He can’t know about this, Duusu.” Tikki added firmly.

Duusu glanced between them, a slight frown taking on her expression. “If my chosen asks me what happened, I cannot lie to him.”

“..And if he _doesn’t_ ask you?” Marinette asked hopefully.

Duusu smiled again. “Then your secret’s safe with me. The fact that he’s detransformed will be a dead give away, though.”

Marinette bit her lip. Right.. That was another problem.

“I don’t suppose you can transform him _without_ the magical incantation?” 

Duusu tilted her head back and forth. “It takes a bit more concentration, but sure!” 

Marinette’s shoulders slumped slightly from relief. She hadn’t realized how tense she was until that moment, but it was fine now. Everything would be fine.

As Tikki and Duusu continued catching up, Marinette found herself studying Felix’s bandages again. Stains of dried blood were on the wrappings from earlier, but not a trace of fresh blood seemed to be present. It was as if the bleeding had stopped all together. 

She hummed, brushing her fingertips against the stain.

Miraculous of Life, huh?

~~~~~~

Felix shifted onto his back, letting his eyes crack open. It was hard to make out the pinks and whites from the blur of his vision and the dim lighting of the room, but he assumed it to be a wall and a small dresser. His hand dug into the covers that he was laying on. Was this a bed? It wasn’t _his_ bed. How did he get here? Where was here?

Felix let his eyes slip closed again, trying to remember what happened. His side ached a tad.. Because he’d been shot, that’s right.. And then he ran to Marinette’s balcony before-

His eyes snapped open, and he bolts upright to look down at his waist. He then tensed, waiting for the pain from moving so quickly. Nothing happened.

Felix frowned at the bandages now wrapped around his waist- had Marinette done that? -and poked at the blood stain. It still gave him a dull ache, but no sharp pains. Was the gunshot less serious than he realized that it healed already? Or was it some sort of magic his miraculous had given him?

Speaking of magic.. 

Felix glanced around the rest of his outfit, relieved to see that he was still covered in blue and purples. He could only imagine what Marinette might have thought had he detransformed in her house. 

Where _is_ Marinette? He hasn’t heard her yet. Come to think of it, he hasn’t heard anything yet.

_Wait, what time is it?_

Le Paon turned to find some sort of clock and spotted a small, pink alarm clock on the dresser. 

His heart dropped when he made out the hot pink numbers. 

“ _3am_?” He almost yelled. No _wonder_ the house was so quiet! Everyone was asleep! Oh, how was he going to apologize to Marinette? Knowing her, she was probably sick with worry. He must have stained half of her bedroom with his own blood. (Because out of everything, he definitely remembered the blood.)

And Father. How was _he_ going to react? Felix not only snuck out, but he also won’t be returning until _past three in the morning_ with a _gunshot wound_. Honestly, Felix might as well kiss his social life goodbye right now. (And who knew he’d started to treasure it so much?)

_I need to get home._

Le Paon shuffled on the bed to get up. He wasn’t sure how he would make this up to Marinette, but he definitely would. Maybe he could pay for a new comforter? Or simply pay her in general for the trouble of-

“Le Paon? Is that you?”

Le Paon froze at the sound of Marinette’s voice. Should he answer? Would she let him leave if he did?

Before he could decide, Marinette scaled the ladder, confirming that he was, in fact, the one making all the noise. 

“Oh, good. You’re up.” She said with a soft smile, as if this entire situation wasn’t completely jarring. “How’s your waist. Are you feeling okay?”

Le Paon, despite feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, nodded. “Much better thanks to you.”

Marinette breathed a small sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear. You really had me worried.” 

Le Paon grimaced, guilt panging in his chest. It was three in the morning, and he had dragged blood and filth into her bedroom- she still had some stains on her shirt, to his horror -but she was still wide awake and checking on him with a smile. Had she stayed up this whole time to watch him?

“I’m sorry.” The words fell from his lips before he could finish wallowing in his guilt. “I shouldn’t have come to your house. You shouldn’t have had to take care of me. Now you have stains everywhere.”

Marinette waved off his apologies. Of course she did. It was who she was. “You probably should have been more careful, but don’t ever apologize for having me take care of you. We’re friends, aren’t we? I’m here for you.”

Le Paon stared at her, wondering how someone could possibly be so kind.

“Besides,” She continued with a teasing smile. “Did you think I was just going to let you die?”

Le Paon swallowed, lost in the sparkle of her eyes. “No.. No, I suppose you wouldn’t.” 

Marinette knelt down next to the bed, eyeing his bandages. “Do you remember what happens? You said something about the police and gunshots before you passed out.” 

Ah, so that’s why he didn’t remember getting to Marinette’s bed. “I was roaming around Paris and found a pack of police officers, but I sort of forgot I was a criminal, so.. I didn’t expect the rounds of gunfire that they started shooting at me.”

Marinette pressed her lips together in a thin line, obviously displeased. “They just started firing? That’s a bit rash.. I feel like there should have been other, less painful methods that came first.” 

Le Paon shrugged. “Well, I _am_ a terrorist.”

Bad choice of words. Marinette frowned. “You don’t have to be.” 

He stares at her. She stares back. A silent pleading between the two.

“I have to get going.” Le Paon finally murmurs. “I’ve already been out too late.”

Another sigh left Marinette, but she obediently scooted back to give him some to get up. “Are you sure you’re well enough to move like that?”

Le Paon offered her a small smile as he pushed himself to his feet. “I’ll be fine.”

Marinette stood as well, following him to the other ladder that led to the balcony. “Okay.. just don’t push yourself.”

“No promises.” Le Paon joked as he grabbed the bar of the ladder. “Thank you, though. For everything.” 

He climbed up the ladder, noting the significant lack of pain coming from his injury. He’ll have to thank Duusu for that later.

Le Paon hoisted himself through the trapdoor and swung his feet upwards, onto the balcony, but before he could stand up again-

“W-Wait!” Marinette said, tugging on his wrist. She’d followed him right up the ladder too.

Le Paon looked down at her. “Yes?”

She pulled away, pressing her forefingers together with a nervous look. “I.. Um.. you…”

Marinette leaned forward before he could even blink and pressed a light, hesitant kiss to his cheek. “Be safe.” 

Le Paon exhaled at the touch of her lips, so soft and yet so burning on his skin. It infected his very being, poured into every bit of body as his mind slowly came to realize what happened. She’d kissed him. Marinette had kissed him on the cheek. It was a common thing to do in Paris usually, but this felt different. _He_ felt different, and he couldn’t help wanting more. 

Le Paon reached forward and cupped her cheek. He’s not sure how a single emotion or urge can consume someone so wholly, but his lips find hers in an instant. 

Marinette stiffened, causing him to pull back slightly. He should’ve known she wouldn’t reciprocate it. Not when he’s dressed like a villain.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-” 

Marinette tugged him forward, crashing her lips onto his and effectively cutting off his apology. 

Le Paon moaned, letting his arms slip around her to pull her closer. Any thoughts or guilts or worries were drowned out far too easily by the fireworks in his soul. Her hands raked through hair, igniting every part of his skin that she touched. How could a kiss be so sweet and so passionate at the same time? 

They broke apart for air, but Felix wasn’t certain he’d never need oxygen again if he only had her. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He panted, because it was the right thing to do. Even if a bigger part of him wanted to stay, Le Paon needed to leave. For both their sakes.

Marinette’s eyes met his, and he was tempted to stay all over again. “.. Do you have to go?”

Oh, if that sentence didn’t burn him alive. 

He shifted to stand, but his hands remained on her, almost like he needed permission to leave. Or maybe he just didn’t want to let go until he had to. “Goodnight.”

Marinette pursed her lips and slowly untangled her hands from his hair. “Goodnight.”

And just like that, he was gone, bounding across rooftops, longing to taste Marinette one more time, and knowing full well that he wasn’t getting anymore sleep that night.


	15. Chapter 15

Light filtered through the windows, illuminating Marinette’s alarm clock as it blared its demands for her to wake up. Marinette ignored it, though. She’d already been up for hours, anyway. Thinking, remembering, imagining.

Felix Agreste was Le Paon. Le Paon had kissed her. _Felix_ had kissed her. She could still feel the gentleness of his kiss, could still see the passion in his fuchsia eyes. 

They had to see each other today. Marinette had to walk through another day of school, pretending Felix _wasn’t_ Le Paon and that they _didn’t_ kiss last night. Was he nervous about it too? They both knew that they’d kissed each other, though Felix didn’t know that Marinette knew it was him. That wouldn’t confuse him, right? He wouldn’t think she was leading them both on? 

Marinette groaned, rubbing her hands over her face. Why couldn’t they have kissed while he was in civilian form? 

More importantly, how was she supposed to approach this now that she knew his identity? If she told him that she was Ladybug, would he stand down? What if he didn’t? 

“He said he wanted to heal his mother..” Marinette pondered aloud. She’d heard that Mlle. Agreste was missing, but no one had ever mentioned her being sick, let alone in a coma. How did Felix know about it? Where was she being kept?

She sat up. “Tikki, that’s it!” 

Tikki glanced up from the cookie she’d been munching on. “What’s it, Marinette?”

“His mother!” Marinette exclaimed. “You said I could heal people, right?”

Tikki frowned. “Well.. it’s not that simple. Using the bond with your kwami to generate magic is something that takes years of practice and discipline.”

“But I did it with Felix last night.” Marinette pointed out.

“We’re not entirely sure _what_ you did with Felix.” Tikki reminded. “Even if you did heal him, it was a flesh wound, and you might have only healed it to a scab. You’ll need more power than that to heal someone in a coma.”

Marinette chewed on her lip in thought. There had to be some way to help him, or he’d never leave Hawkmoth’s side. 

“..Can _you_ teach me?”

“I cannot. Kwami’s don’t have experience with your use of magic..” The miniature god paused, almost as if she wasn’t sure whether she should continue or not.

“ _But_?” Marinette pressed. If there was something she could do to help Felix, she needed to know.

Tikki met her eyes again, still uncertain, but determined. “But I know someone who can.” 

~~~~~~

Felix checked the bathroom door to make sure it was locked before taking off his shirt to change. Usually, he doesn’t worry much about privacy when it comes to Adrien- being brothers and all -but today was a bit different.

Felix glanced over his bandages in the mirror as he walked forward to grab the bandage roll. He’d tried to change them properly last night, since Marinette had to put them on over his clothes, but with it being so late, he ended up changing the bandages with the lights off to ensure Adrien wouldn’t wake up. Now, the bandages were all crooked, and Felix needed to change them again before attempting to walk through a whole day of school.

Carefully, he pulled the wrappings off of his body. He could hardly see the bandages last night, let alone the wound, so there was no telling how bad the injury would be.

Felix waited for blood and possibly puss, but when he finally got the last of the bandages off.. There was nothing. Nothing but a scar.

“What?” 

Felix touched the wound with knitted eyebrows. The spot where his grazed injury used to be was now a white streak on his skin. It didn’t even hurt when he touched it. 

“Duusu,” He turned to his kwami, who sat patiently on the counter as she ate her truffle, “How did this happen?”

Duusu glanced up from her treat with a questioning gaze. “How did what happen?”

Felix gestured to his side as if it were obvious. (Which it was.) “The scar. How did it heal so fast?”

“The miraculous magic, of course.” 

Felix frowned. He didn’t know his suit healed wounds like that.

A knock came from the bathroom door, interrupting Felix’s thoughts.

“Fe? Are you in there?” Adrien asked from the other side. “The car’s waiting for us.” 

Felix tossed the old bandages aside- he didn’t need _those_ anymore -and grabbed his neatly folded clothes on the counter. “I’ll be out in a minute!” 

So his miraculous could heal people too, huh? What an interesting twist of events. He’ll have to talk to Duusu more about this later.

Felix quickly buttoned up his vest and snatched his dirty clothes off the floor. If they were lucky, Father wouldn’t need the miraculous wish to heal Mother.

Then again, when were they _ever_ lucky?

~~~~~~

Marinette stopped at the corner of the street, panting and checking the street signs for which way to go. She needed to hurry if she was supposed to meet this mystery person before school.

“Take a right!” Tikki whispered from her purse.

Marinette nodded and turned right onto another street. “Where are you taking me?”

“He’ll explain when we get there.” 

“He? Who’s-”

“There!” Tikki shouted, cutting her off. 

Marinette skidded to a stop on the pavement, barely keeping herself from tripping over her own two feet. In front of her was a tan, two story building that had a small sign out front.

_‘Wang Fu’s Massage Parlor’_

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. “You brought me to a massage parlor?”

“Go inside and climb the staircase to your right. You’ll find him in the last door at the end of the hall.” Tikki instructed, before closing the purse to hide.

Marinette’s nose scrunched up slightly. Why was her kwami being so vague? Couldn’t she explain what Marinette was walking into beforehand?

 _Guess not._ Marinette thought as she walked inside. 

It took a moment to find the steps, mostly because Marinette was too busy trying to make sense of what was happening. Tikki said this man would help her learn the powers of the miraculous, but why would he be in a massage parlor? How did Tikki even know about this massage parlor?

Finally, Marinette found the staircase, then found the door at the end of the hall where Tikki said it would be. 

With bated breath, Marinette knocked. 

She wasn’t entirely sure what she’d been expecting, but she did _not_ expect a frail, one hundred or so year old man to open the door with a smile.

“Good evening, Mademoiselle. Is there anything I can help you with?” He asked politely.

Before she could answer, Tikki flew out of her purse and gave the man a pleading look. “Master Fu, I know you said never to bring her here, but we need your help!”

Marinette blinked. ‘ _Master_ Fu’? She’d never heard Tikki refer to anyone as master before, and why would he tell her to keep his identity a secret?

The man’s expression shifted into a grave one and he nodded. “Of course. Please, come inside quickly.”

Marinette followed him inside, where he guided her to the mat on the floor. 

Tikki began explaining immediately. “Marinette found out that Felix is Le Paon, but that’s not all! She’s also unlocked some of the miraculous magic that’s been stored within her.”

“Marinette found out”. That almost sounds like Tikki knew about Felix’s identity already. 

“Now she’s wanting you to teach her how to use it so she can heal Felix’s mother.” 

“Felix’s mother?” Fu inquired.

“She’s sick.” Marinette spoke up, though she was still a bit confused as to what was going on. “She’s in an incurable coma. That’s why Le Pa- er -that’s why _Felix_ wants the miraculous wish. So he can heal her.”

Fu hummed. “But _now_ you want to heal her.”

Marinette nodded. “Yes. If I can somehow heal his mother without the wish, maybe we won’t have to fight anymore.” 

“That could be a solution,” Fu replied thoughtfully, “But are you prepared to train for it?”

Marinette frowned. Would training be hard? 

“I am.” She answered firmly. Even if the training was hard, it would be worth it. For Felix. “I need to know though.. Who are you? How do you know Tikki?”

Tikki and Fu shared a glance.

“.. I suppose it’s time you know.” Fu remarked. He gestured to the side of the room, where a green kwami flew from its hiding place. 

Marinette stared at him, completely baffled. She hadn’t thought about the fact that there might be more miraculous than the ones they already knew of.

“My name is Master Fu. I am the Guardian of the miraculous, the one who gave you your earrings and Chat Noir his ring.” The man explained.

Marinette’s eyes widened. “Wait- the Guardian? I didn’t know the miraculous had a guardian.”

Master Fu nodded. “We Guardians are the protectors of the miraculous. We keep them from falling into the wrong hands. That is why it was imperative that my existence be kept a secret from you.”

“You mean ‘wrong hands’, as in Hawk Moth?” Marinette guessed.

“Correct. Mistakes were made, and some of the miraculous were lost. I don’t know how he found it, but it’s forced me to push the old heroes into the light once again.” 

Marinette frowned. “How did Felix get a miraculous then?” 

“We can only guess, I’m afraid.” Master Fu sighed. “But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that he has it, and you might have a solution to getting it back.”

Marinette drew in a breath. “So you’ll teach me?”

“I will, but you need to get to school for now. Meet me later tonight and make sure you are not followed.”

She nodded eagerly and got to her feet. “Thank you, Master. You won’t regret it.” 

He offered a smile. “I’m sure I won’t.”

With a final wave, Marinette started her way out of the building again. She had so many questions about what just happened, about how many miraculous there really were that they needed a guardian, about why Master Fu chose _her_ to be Ladybug, but one question gnawed at her the most: How was she going to tell Felix? He didn’t trust Ladybug, and Marinette wouldn’t have this information. Should she just reveal herself as Ladybug and ask? That didn’t sound like a good plan.. She’ll have to convince him to talk to Ladybug as Le Paon. Hopefully, that will work out better than it did the first time.

~~~~~~~

Felix had never been more mindful of his expressions as he walked into school that morning. Before, visiting Le Paon never bothered him all that much when he saw her at school the next day. Sure, he would know new things about her, like her favorite tea or the fact that she’s planning a fashion line on some of her first drawings as a child, but it was always something he could mask. Felix would simply smile at her and think about the details later.

 _Now_ , though…

Felix licked his lips.

Now they’ve gone and crossed a line. They’ve added intimacy into the mix, and Felix wasn’t sure he could look her in the eyes anymore without feeling the depths of his soul cracking open before her. He let his guard down and opened up to her- and as Le Paon no less! It was bad enough when Felix thought that he would be keeping his alternate identity a secret from her if they started dating, but now he has to pretend they _didn’t_ kiss? That he didn’t get an intoxicating taste of her last night? That he wasn’t itching for more? 

Felix resisted the urge to face palm again- since he already had a mark from doing it so many times the night before -and instead dug his fingers into the strap of his bag. Of course he had to kiss her in the most inconvenient way. If he had only waited till today, he might be kissing her right now!

_Would you, though?_

Felix’s grip on his bag loosened, and he sighed. Despite how wonderful it felt to finally kiss Marinette, he couldn’t help feeling a bit hurt as well. She’d kissed Le Paon- tugged him forward into another kiss and everything. If that didn’t scream “love” or at least “desire”, then Felix needed to re-evaluate his views on dating. 

Don’t get him wrong, her loving Le Paon would be great..if he didn’t already assume that she loved him as Felix. Was she playing them both? (Or just playing both sides of him? Alternate egos are confusing) Did she _love_ them both? Why did his stomach twist at the thought of either? At the very least, he should be happy that she wanted to kiss him as Felix _and_ Le Paon.. right?

“Uh.. Felix?”

Felix blinked at his brother’s voice. What were they supposed to be doing again?

Adrien rose a brow at him, and the bustling crowds behind the blonde reminded Felix that _Ah, yes. I’m supposed to be at school._

“Do you want some chap stick?” Adrien asked when he knew he had Felix’s attention. “You’ve been licking your lips all morning.” 

Felix coughed. “Uh- no, no. I’m fine, thank you.”

Adrien frowned, but quickly lit up again at the sight of something behind Felix. “Oh, Marinette!” 

Felix’s heart stopped at the sound of Marinette’s name, but he didn’t turn around. He couldn’t. At this point, it was obvious that any form of conversation with the ravenette wouldn’t end well for him.

So he only watched helplessly as Adrien waved to her. 

“Hey! How’s your morning going?” His brother asked warmly.

Felix still couldn’t see her, but he faintly caught the sound of her pink flats against the tiles, and he imagined her giving Adrien a bright grin along with a wave of her own. 

“Hey guys-” She barely got the last word out before the bell rang, and Felix can feel himself breath again at the thought of an easy reprieve. 

“Oh, that’s the bell.” Adrien thought aloud, glancing up at the noise. Then his eyes trailed back down to Marinette, who had just stopped next to Felix. 

_Back to no oxygen, I guess._ Felix thought to himself, keeping his eyes on the floor. Would it be rude if he tried to leave now? Was it even right to try to avoid someone you’ve just kissed? It should be understandable, especially when Marinette doesn’t know she kissed him, specifically.

“I’ll see you two after classes.” Felix finally remarked, turning as he did. If he left fast enough, maybe Marinette wouldn’t be able to stop him.

A hand on his forearm proved him dangerously wrong. 

“Wait!” Marinette blurted out. “Uh- You’re going to be at the art club today, right? There was this painting technique I was hoping you could show me..”

Felix drew in a breath, harshly ignoring the delightfully vanilla-filled scent that invaded his lungs. He loved her, loved the feeling that crawled up his spine when she touched him, but he _needed_ distance. Without distance, they only had each other, and with only each other..

“Yes, I should be there. Claude’s been bothering me to paint a beach.” He answered, gently tugging his arm from her grasp. It was meant to be subtle, but the flicker of hurt in her eyes told him that she’d noticed anyway. 

“Oh.. okay. Thanks.” She said, taking a step back. She’d gotten the hint, and Felix didn’t find himself hating her keen sense of observation until now. He wanted her close. He wanted her to question him and step forward and poke and prod until his resolve broke. At least then he would have a flimsy reason to share the blame.

But Marinette didn’t pry into his personal space and didn’t ask questions that weren’t hers to ask. She respected his boundaries as always, and Felix didn’t know whether he hated it or loved her all the more for it.

“I’ll see you after classes.” He stated, offering a small smile.

Marinette flashed him her usual, radiant grin, and Felix knew it was the latter of the two.

“Yep, see you then.” 

With a final wave, she was off, her pigtails bouncing behind her and Adrien following along to chat on the way to their first class together.

Felix closed his eyes and heaved a deep, deep sigh. 

Today’s going to be a _long_ day.

~~~~~~

Marinette was anxious, which wasn’t unusual for her, but this time she was anxious for a _reason_. 

Felix was avoiding her. He kept his head down in the halls when they’d normally share a glance and possibly a smile as they passed each other, and he wouldn’t look her in the eyes that morning when they talked either, nor did he let her hold onto him for long. Something was up, and Marinette knew exactly what it was.

She bit her lip as she left her last class of the day, and started for the art room. Felix always had his own, personal bubble, but he’d never expressed that towards _her_ before. Sometimes, he would even grab onto her first. 

If he needed space, that was fine. Marinette just wanted to know _why_. Did he not like their kiss? Or did he think it was a mistake since he did it as Le Paon? Or just a mistake in general? Should she have _not_ kissed Le Paon back? Is that why he was avoiding her?

Marinette held back a frustrated groan, pushing open the door to the art room. She wished she could just _ask_ him about it, but unless Felix decided to visit her again as his alter ego, the questions would have to wait. If he was already avoiding her now, he might stop talking to her entirely if he knew that she found out his identity.

Marinette managed a smile towards her other club members and set her bag on a chair in the corner. Despite Felix being the one to kiss her first, she couldn’t help hating herself for how she reacted. What if she’d closed her eyes when he detransformed? What if she hadn’t kissed him on the cheek or told him to wait? What if she hadn’t kissed him back as Le Paon? What if she’d stopped him and said that she was in love with Felix? What if, what if, what if, _what if_ -

“Marinette?” 

Marinette yelped and whirled around to see none other than Felix, standing right there in front of her. He looked a bit nervous, or a bit unsure or both. Either way, he pulled a somewhat tight smile and gestured to two blank canvases that were set up behind him. 

“You said you wanted me to teach you a paint stroke?”

Marinette frowned. Why did he have to look so uneasy? Was it that horrible to be around her now? “Well, I did, but you don’t have to if you’re not feeling up to it.”

“No, it’s fine.” Felix replied quickly, before clearing his throat. “I was already helping Claude paint, anyway.”

Marinette stared at him for a moment. He’s avoided her all day only to insist that they paint together, and he still can’t quite look her in the eyes for long. His actions and words were completely contradicting. What was he thinking exactly?

“Alright, I’ll get a paint set then.” Marinette said, pulling a smile as well. It’s not like she could confront him about his behavior, so she might as well continue as if nothing’s wrong.

She grabbed one of the paint sets off of a shelf and set it up along the canvas that Felix had prepared for her. Claude joined them a few minutes later, since he had to put up his own canvas. 

“Alright, let’s start with the sky.” Felix began, dipping his paint brush into a light blue color. “You need to use quick strokes back and forth that get longer the further you paint onto the canvas.”

Marinette dipped her paintbrush into the light blue as well and followed along with Felix as he started painting the sky. Or, she tried to follow. His movements were quick and precise and hard to catch. Marinette thought she was dragging it back and forth like he was, but her colors were starting to clump together on the canvas. Either that or she’d start to have spots of white. She tried going faster, but that led to more white spots. Then she tried going smoother.. which led to more globs.. What was she doing wrong?

Felix chuckled beside her, and in a blink he a breath away behind her, grabbing her hand with the paintbrush and bringing it to the canvas.

“Here. Try to do it like this.” He said, using her hand to bring the brush back and forth in a diagonal motion. 

Marinette nodded, even though she couldn’t hear a word he was saying. His hand’s on her shoulder, casually bringing her closer to his chest, and his breath is trickling down her neck when he speaks. This might be why he’s been avoiding her all day, because the only thing she could think of doing now was twisting around in his arms and reenacting their late night rendezvous. 

Felix paused in his strokes and his fingers shifted on her shoulder, almost like he wanted to pull her closer too. Marinette’s tempted to simply lean back, to just let herself be against him again, but she doesn’t. She stays still, mouth dry and heart racing, waiting for him to make a move.

A beat of silence passed between them.

Then Felix drew in a breath, as if remembering himself, and started to pull away, much to Marinette’s disappointment. 

“Yes, so, that’s how you paint.. That..” He stated lamely.

“Thanks.” Marinette replied, watching his hand fall off of hers. She wanted to say something else, tell him that it’s _okay_ to be close. It’s okay because she knows who he is, and she understands. 

In a moment of weakness, Marinette turned to grab his hand. They needed to talk to each other. She didn’t have to tell him about Le Paon, but they needed to talk. 

“Felix-”

A loud *CRASH* came from the side of the room, and the art door swung open.

Marinette and the others froze at first, thinking it might be an akuma, until they saw Allegra run into the classroom with an eager expression.

“Marinette! Is Marinette here?” She asked, scanning the room. 

Nathaniel barely started to point the ravenette out when Allegra spotted her.

“Oh there you are!” She beamed, rushing over. “Come on! My followers just notified me that they saw an akuma on the other side of town! We need to hurry up and get there before Ladybug or Le Paon shows up!” 

“An akuma?” Marinette tried to ask as Allegra tugged her towards the door. Was there always going to be an akuma when she tried to talk to Felix? 

“Yeah! We have to hurry though, so come on!” 

“Wait!” 

Marinette came to a halt as Felix tugged on her other arm.

“You can’t just run into an akuma attack!” He said, clearly worried. 

Allegra paused long enough to get a better hold on Marinette. “Of course we can. That’s what we’re going to do right now.”

“No, I mean-” Felix sighed, meeting Marinette’s eyes for the first time that day, pleading. “It’s _dangerous_. You can’t just risk your lives for something as trivial as a blog.”

Marinette understood his concern. She really did. If she didn’t have to go transform to find the akuma now, she would be trying to convince Allegra not to go herself. But she _did_ have to transform, and to do that, she needed to leave with Allegra.

“It’s okay.” She promised, slipping her hand out of his. “We’ll be careful. If anything, Ladybug and Le Paon can save us, right?”

Felix’s eyes widened, and Allegra took that surprise as an opportunity to pull Marinette out of the art room and down the hall.


	16. Chapter 16

Le Paon landed on a chimney top and frantically searched the city streets. The akuma was probably being formed at that very minute. He needed to find Marinette and get her off the streets before the battle started. If something happened to her because he was floundering around for some pieces of _jewelry_ -

“PEOPLE OF PARIS!”

Le Paon jerked in the direction of the booming voice, where a woman stood in the middle of the street. Or, at least, he assumed it was a woman. The person’s figure was too covered in a dripping, green slime to really tell.

“YOU ALL WANTED A MONSTER.” They bellowed. Yes, that shrieking was definitely on the feminine side. “I GAVE YOU ONE, PUT MY HEART AND SOUL INTO IT, BUT DID YOU ALL THANK ME? NO! YOU TOLD ME IT NEEDED TO BE SCARIER, MORE REALISTIC!”

The green slime ball aimed her arms towards the sky. “HOW’S _THIS_ FOR REALISTIC?!”

The akuma thrust her arms forward, causing slime to shoot off in random directions. The slime covered the building and the cars, sticking to them like glue. A few people tried to escape, but within seconds, the akuma had them pinned to the cement with her goo. So far, struggle appeared to be futile.

Le Paon started looking faster.

He passed over the alleyways of the entire street, then jumped to a few other streets and searched through those too. Panicked citizens were running and screaming everywhere, but Marinette was nowhere to be found. Where could she have gone? Why couldn’t he see her? What if she’d gotten hit already, and he missed it?

In a newfound panic of his own, Le Paon rushed back to the akuma, only to find Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting it head on.

The heroes were using their weapons to avoid the slime balls, while the akuma kept shooting. Underneath the akuma’s feet, though, slime was slowly seeping off of her body and climbing up the building wall that the heroes were on. A trap.

 _She looks like she’s got this._ Le Paon thought, continuing to look around for Marinette.

It was then he spotted her. Well, not Marinette, but Allegra. She was filming him from behind a slimmed car not too far away. Le Paon ran towards her. The two girls had run off together, so Marinette had to be close by.

Allegra gasped slightly at his sudden approach, but didn’t back up. She merely stared at him with a mix of awe and a slight bit of worry.

“Where’s Ma- uh- your friend?” He asked quickly. There was no time to play games.

Allegra blinked. “You mean Marinette? I don’t know. She said we’d get better coverage if we split up.”

Le Paon let out a frantic laugh. Of course she did. _Of course she did._

“Alright, alright, um..” He looked around for a moment, before pushing the camera until it was facing down. “First of all, no pictures. Second, get to safety and tell your friend to do the same.”

Allegra went to reply, but Le Paon spun on his heel and sprinted back towards the fight. He didn’t have any more time to look for Marinette. So he’d have to win- or end -this fight swiftly to make sure she didn’t get hurt. (If she wasn’t already.)

Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the akuma, easily tying them up to stop the blasts. Le Paon used the akuma’s excess sludge to slide forward and grab the yo-yo string. He caught a glimpse of Ladybug’s surprise before he yanked on the yo-yo, causing the hero to fly forward.

Unfortunately, Chat Noir managed to grab her arm in time, but the yo-yo did slip off the akuma when Ladybug lost her balance, so Ladybug’s being saved wasn’t a total loss. 

With the akuma free, Le Paon took off towards another alleway. They needed to surround the heroes, make them sweat. If he could coax their powers out of them prematurely, he might be able to figure out Ladybug’s identity when her time ran out. 

Le Paon jumped back and forth between the alley walls until he was back on the rooftops. Ladybug and Chat Noir were fighting two roofs away. What the heroes didn’t see, however, was the sludge that was ever so quietly creeping onto the rooftop. Le Paon didn’t know how they were missing it, since it was almost covering the front of the building they were standing on.

Pushing that thought aside, He charged forward and spread out his fans. It didn’t matter why they missed the sludge. The point is that they did miss it, and it would be their fatal mistake.

“Incoming!” Chat yelled as Le Paon landed on their rooftop.

Ladybug glanced behind her, briefly catching Le Paon’s gaze. “I see him! Cover me-”

Her orders were cut off with a gasp when the slime finally crawled around their ankles. 

“C-Chat!” She yelped, foolishly trying to pull herself out of it as it continued up her legs.

“I got it!” Chat Noir said, raising his hand in the air. “Cataclysm!” 

Le Paon watched the familiar, dark magic swirl around his brother’s palm. As soon as he thought about stopping the use of the power, though, Chat Noir already had his hand on the slime, and it was disintegrating.

Along with the rest of the roof.

Le Paon stumbled back as the black decay spread across the plastered rooftop. He’d seen Cataclysm a few times in action, but he’d never dared to get so close. His paranoia was proven justified too when the roof caved in on itself, bringing Le Paon with it.

A shocked cry escaped him as he grappled at the air. Debri smacked him from all sides, and his vision clouded with the dust of it. 

When his back hit the top floor, he couldn’t even gasp a second time, as the hit ripped all of the air from his lungs. He did, however, find the time to shield himself with his forearms in the two second span it took for the rest of the debri to fall on top of him.

That’s when the floor caved below him for the second time.

~~~~~~

Ladybug tried not to gag as she dug through the akuma’s slime to grab the akumatized object. She thought that cinema monster was bad, but now she almost missed him.

“There!” Chat Noir spoke up, pointing towards a small object around the akuma’s neck.

Ladybug yanked it off and promptly smashed it to the ground. As expected, an akuma fluttered out of the object.

She used her yo-yo to catch it and stood up with a relieved sigh. “I’m glad that fight’s over. I’m pretty sure I still have some slime left in my ears.”

“I couldn’t agree more, M’Lady.” Chat Noir commented. “Mind using your miraculous cure so I won’t have to take five showers when I get home?”

Ladybug chuckled and threw her Lucky charm into the air. It burst into a million, tiny ladybugs before sweeping over the city- them included -and putting everything back to the way it was.

Chat Noir shuddered. “Oh, _finally_! That goo was starting to find its way into uncomfortable places.”

Ladybug scrunched up her nose with a laugh. “Ew! Don’t tell me that.” 

Chat Noir gave a shrug. “It’s true.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes playfully. “ _Anyway_ , where do you think Le Paon went?” Her eyes swept over the city street they were on. “Usually, he’d come out to fight some more or we’d see him running away.”

Chat looked around as well, but he obviously wasn’t as interested- or worried -as she was. “He probably ran back to his little boss, the coward. As long as he’s out of our way now, I don’t care.”

Ladybug frowned. Chat Noir had always been more firm in his belief that Le Paon was pure evil, not that she could blame him. She’d thought the same thing until he saved her, until she found out he was actually Felix. She wanted to help him give up peacefully, but would Chat Noir allow it? 

“Chat..” She began hesitantly. “Do you think it’s possible to end all of this peacefully?”

Chat furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Well, what if Le Paon decides to surrender? What do you think we should do?”

“Le Paon? _Surrender_?” Chat Noir snorted. “Come on, M’Lady, we both know that’s not going to happen. Le Paon is an incompetent criminal with no remorse. He’s not going to ‘surrender’ until he’s gotten the miraculous or we have him in handcuffs.”

Ladybug held back a grimace. That didn’t sound like a good start to Felix’s redemption.

“But what if he did? What if he decides to stop working for Hawkmoth and turn himself in?” She prompted.

Chat stared at her for a moment, then sighed. “If he _really_ had a change of heart and decided to give up his miraculous, then _maybe_ I could see myself being fine with him. But the fact is, that’s never going to happen Bugaboo.” 

Ladybug’s miraculous took that moment to start beeping.

She touched a hand to her earrings. “Yeah.. maybe..”

Chat Noir offered her a smile and patted her shoulder. “Hey, everything’s gonna be alright. Even if he doesn’t surrender, we’ll catch him.”

Ladybug bit her lip and nodded. What was she going to do if they did catch him? Would she have to convince Chat Noir to let him go? She couldn’t see him letting a terrorist run off without consequences if he didn’t know them.

She threw out her yo-yo, letting it wrap around a nearby chimney. There was no use in worrying about something that might not happen. “I’ll see you later, Chat.”

Chat gave a small wave and pulled out his baton. “Later, Lb.”

The two ran off in opposite directions, Chat Noir in the direction of the school, Ladybug in the direction of Master Fu’s Massage Parlor.

~~~~~~

A gasp tore itself from Le Paon as his eyes snapped open. He jolted upright and gripped his chest, hard. Where was he? Was the battle over? How did he get back onto the rooftops? Le Paon was sure he’d been…

He shook his head. The miraculous cure must have healed him, which meant the battle was over. Ladybug and Chat Noir must have taken out the akuma while he was- ahem - _out_. 

Le Paon started to scramble to his feet. He had no way of knowing where the heroes were now. They might have left, or they might be searching for him. Neither situation sounded pleasant. 

Just as he was wondering whether he should go home or back to school, Ladybug’s yo-yo strung out across the air, and she sailed forward a second later, her earrings beeping the whole way.

Le Paon’s eyes widened, even more so when he saw Chat Noir using his staff to volt off in the completely opposite direction. This was it. This was his chance. He could finally figure out who Ladybug was.

Le Paon was on his feet and running in moments, his thoughts of what just happened during the battle lost in the back of his mind. If he could figure out Ladybug’s identity, he could take her miraculous and convince Adrien to give up his. The battles and endless fights would be over, their mother would be alive again, and, most importantly, Marinette would be safe. 

It only took a good minute for Ladybug to land in another alleyway, as she was clearly out of time. Le Paon slid up behind a chimney from the rooftop across the street, holding his breath. Any sudden movements and this whole plan would fall apart. He couldn’t let that happen, not when he was _so close._

“Tikki, spots off.” The magic words tumbled from her lips, and Le Paon peeked a bit further around the chimney. His nerves were buzzing with anticipation as the shimmering magic melted off of her body. He’d never thought much about Ladybug’s identity, but now he couldn’t help wondering who it might be. This girl had been spoiling his Father’s plans for _months_ , after all. She must be special somehow. 

The flash of light faded.

Le Paon’s heart stopped.

Though her pigtails had remained, the light replaced Ladybug’s spotted suit with an outfit of pink capris and a white t-shirt under a black, half-sleeved jacket. An outfit that Felix would recognize anywhere.

_Oh no._

All hopes of him seeing things was dashed away when a red kwami zipped around the ravenette, chirping, “That was a close one, Marinette!”

Marinette- _why_ Marinette?-chuckled, giving a small nod of agreement. “That it was, but I made it just in time.”

Le Paon hid behind the chimney again as she turned to jog out of the alley. Of all the people in all of Paris in all of the _world_ \- it just _had_ to be Marinette. Then again, who else could it be? The cleverness, the strength, the agility- of course it was her. Felix honestly couldn’t imagine anyone _else_ being Ladybug, and that made him sick to his stomach.

They were on opposing sides. Not only was he fighting his little brother, he was also fighting the woman he’d fallen in love with. Gosh, what kind of sick joke was this?

Le Paon sank to the ground, thumping his head against the chimney bricks. Marinette’s pleas to talk with Ladybug made sense now. She wanted him to talk to her as Ladybug, but she couldn’t say that outright without giving her identity away. What would she have said as Ladybug that she couldn’t as Marinette? Their positions were the same either way. Felix needed the miraculous. She wasn’t giving them to him. That was it.

Le Paon blew out a sigh, rubbing his hands over his face. Maybe.. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. If Ladybug was Marinette, he could get the miraculous easily, right? All he had to do was visit her again and take them. It’s certainly something she wouldn’t expect.. He would have the earrings. Then he could talk to Adrien and get the ring. Father would make the wish, Mother would be returned to them, and Felix could give the miraculous back to Marinette in one piece. No harm done..

Except Marinette would be betrayed.

Le Paon finally stood. Doing this might make her hate him forever, but it was necessary. Even if Felix decided to give up and surrender, he couldn’t say that his father would share the sentiment. Then what? Hawkmoth gets a new partner, and Marinette is still in danger, probably more than before? He couldn’t stand that, yet he couldn’t fight her himself anymore either! Getting the miraculous was the only option. It would hurt her, yes, but it was in everyone’s best interest. She would have to find it in herself to forgive him, and if she didn’t.. well.. 

Le Paon started the run home. 

If she didn’t forgive him, at least she’d be hating him in the safety of her home, without the heroic duties that he and Hawkmoth currently gave her.

~~~~~~

Marinette closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, silencing her thoughts. She needed to focus on healing, on life, on every breath she took that represented both.

“Your connection to your kwami is sacred and rare.” Master Fu explained, sitting across from her. “Many wear the miraculous, but few are completely compatible with them. When one _is_ compatible, though, they are able to unlock unique abilities, with practice.”

“In this case, you are connected to the miraculous of creation. That means you have extended abilities towards life itself. If your powers are nursed properly, you will be able to heal others by restoring life to them, or, in other words, recreating their life force.”

“So.. I can bring people back from the dead?” Marinette asked curiously.

“No.” Fu answered. “Bringing people back from the dead doesn’t work, because there is no original life force to restore or recreate. If you did manage to bring someone back, they wouldn’t be the same.”

Marinette cracked open an eye, worry flickering across her face. “Then what happens to the people that don’t make it during akuma attacks?”

Fu gave a small smile. “Tikki’s powers can bring others back to life, or rather, recreate them properly, under the proper circumstances, such as akuma attacks. Right now, we are talking about _your_ powers.”

“Right, right. Sorry.” Marinette said, closing her eyes again.

Master Fu continued. “Now, to access this bond, you need to concentrate on the connection with your kwami, along with magic that has now been infused with your soul. You need to feel it glowing from within and transfer it to the object you are hoping to recover. Clear your mind of everything but Tikki and try to heal this plant.”

Marinette nodded and inhaled. Healing.. What did that mean? Restoring the health of a living being, she supposed. Fixing things that are broken. But it also meant washing away all of the bad that rotted the thing in the first place. 

Marinette touched a hand to the drooping plant in front of her, focusing on the magic within her, feeling it wash away the corruption in the stems and leaves. 

She didn’t have to open her eyes to know that a soft, pink glow was spreading over the plant, but she opened them anyway to watch the wilting leaves slowly rise and regain their bright green color. 

“I’m doing it!” She exclaimed. “Look, it’s being healed!”

Unfortunately, the excitement at her success caused her to lose her concentration, and the pink glow faded, which in turn left the plant drooping again. 

“Don’t worry.” Master Fu told her as her shoulders dropped with disappointment. “This was an excellent first try. I have no doubt that you’ll get the hang of it with more practice.”

Marinette bit her lip, staring down at the lifeless leaves.

“.. What if.. What if I _can’t_ heal her.” She asked, her fingers tangling together nervously. A human being had to be immensely complicated compared to a small plant. How could she revive Emilie if she could hardly hold up a fern for more than three seconds?

Master Fu put a comforting hand on hers. “You can do it, but even if you can’t, I’m sure Felix will understand.”

 _Will he though?_ Marinette couldn’t help thinking. She’s always known Felix as a sensible person, but would he give up his mother for a random person he might not even know? Further more, will he betray Hawkmoth to surrender?

“Let’s try again.” Master Fu spoke up, taking her from her thoughts.

Marinette nodded her head and closed her eyes to clear her mind. No Felix. No Hawkmoth. Only life and healing.

She held out her hand to restart the magical process.

~~~~~~

The familiar clang of metal resonated across the secret garden with each step Felix took. He’d come down here a scarce few times since he accepted the peacock miraculous to help his Father. Most of the time it was to grieve, or to restore his determination to get the miraculous. Today, it was for courage.

Marinette was Ladybug. Adrien was Chat Noir. The two people he held most dear were against him and Father. Now he had to choose what meant more to him: Their opinion or Mother’s health.

Felix touched a hand to the glass of his Mother’s coffin. It was cold against his skin, the same way he imagined her to be during her current, sleeping state.

“Duusu, can you heal her like you did me?” He asked.

The kwami shook her head. “I’m sorry, but the peacock miraculous doesn’t work like that.”

Felix sighed. “So, I do need the wish to heal her.” 

Why was he hesitating? Wasn’t this the thing he’s been working towards for months now? Adrien had the ring, and Marinette had the earrings. They were both so close that Felix would barely need to do anything to get them. The wish was at his fingertips, right there in front of him. All he had to do was act.

Felix took his hand off the glass. “Duusu, spread my feathers.”

It will be the coward’s way out to hide under his mask while taking her miraculous, but at least the betrayal will be quick.

~~~~~~

The greenish brown leaves of Master Fu’s plant swayed mockingly as Marinette set the pot on her table. She’d managed to heal it somewhat during her training session, but it was still susceptible to illness. So Master Fu sent her home with the plant and advised that she practice during her free time. 

“You did a great job today!” Tikki praised beside her.

Marinette smiled. “Thanks, Tikki. I’m gonna get this healing magic down if it’s the last thing I do.” 

She pulled up her rolling chair and took a seat in front of the plant. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she drew in a deep breath, the same way Master Fu taught her. 

_Clear your mind._ She reminded herself. _Focus on the bond with your kwami._

Marinette reached out to touch her plant again when-

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

A knocking sound came from the trapdoor above.

Marinette’s heart skipped a beat, recognizing the knock instantly. 

“Felix.” She whispered to herself. “Coming!” 

Marinette stood from her chair and swiftly hid the plant under her desk. He probably wouldn’t think anything of a half-dead plant being in her room, but it felt natural to hide something related to Ladybug.

She climbed the ladder and opened the trapdoor, and Le Paon dropped down into her room. 

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He said in greeting.

Marinette smiled. “No, not really. I was just.. Uh.. sketching.”

Le Paon offered a small smile. “Oh? It wasn’t a picture of me again was it?”

Marinette pursed her lips, a soft blush swirling across her cheeks. “Well, no.. not this time.”

Le Paon’s smile widened slightly, and Marinette felt her heart rate pick up. The last time they were in her room along like this, they kissed. Would he kiss her again? Was it okay to admit that, despite the stress of him working for Hawkmoth, she really wanted him to?

“So.. what brings you here?” She inquired, horribly hoping he would simply say her name, that he would admit to missing her too.

Le Paon’s smile faltered. Not exactly the response she was looking for.

“I..” His gaze flicked to the left of her a moment, and his expression twisted with confliction. “Uhm..”

Marinette’s eyebrow knitted together. “Le Paon? Is everything okay?”

Le Paon met her eyes again, swallowing thickly. “Of course. I just.. I wanted to see you. You know, after last night.”

Marinette frowned. She might be wrong, but people don’t normally look conflicted when talking about a kiss.. unless..

Marinette’s stomach twisted. 

“Do regret it?” She hated to ask the question- What if he did regret it? Where would they go from there? -but she also needed to know. The last thing Marinette wanted to do was pressure Felix into spending time with her on a romantic basis. 

Le Paon’s eyes widened. “What? No, not all! I mean, I regret not asking permission first, but..” 

Relief flooded Marinette’s chest, though his answer still didn’t explain why he looked so conflicted a second ago. “But?”

Something flickered across his expression, but she didn’t have time to decipher it as he took a step forward. “But I could never regret kissing you. In fact, I..” his hand came up to cup her cheek again. “I was hoping to do it again.”

Marinette held back a smile as butterflies fluttered through her. “Is that your way of asking for permission?”

“Should I be on my knees begging instead?” He replied teasingly.

A giggle bubbled up her throat. “Maybe.”

Her leaned forward, capturing her lips in a soft kiss, and the rush of euphoria that came with the contact left her absolutely giddy. She should probably be practicing with her magic right now, or convincing Le Paon to go talk to her alter ego, but all she could think about was the touch of his lips on hers and the gentle strokes of his thumbs on her cheeks.

“I love you.” Le Paon mumbled against her lips, sending Marinette through the roof. He loved her! Albeit, he confessed to it as Le Paon, but still-

“And I’m sorry.”

Wait, what?

Marinette opened her eyes, only to wince when Le Paon quickly yanked out her earrings. As soon as he had them, he jumped back and started climbing up the ladder.

“Wait!” She yelled, pure, icy fear shooting through her veins. How did he know? _When_ did he know? 

Le Paon threw himself out the trap door and slammed it shut. Marinette shot up the ladder after him and swung the trapdoor open again, but he was already two rooftops away. Without her miraculous, she had no way of going after him.

Marinette started hyperventilating. How was she going to explain this to Master Fu? Did Felix already have the ring? What if he made the wish? What if Hawkmoth decided to make a _different_ wish? With both miraculous, they could do who knows what!

“Felix!” She shouted desperately. He didn’t hear her. If he did, he didn’t turn around.

She could only watch as he disappeared into the night.


	17. Chapter 17

Le Paon stumbled to a stop, his chest tight and his heart in his throat. He clutched the earrings in his palms, causing the ends to dig into his skin. 

_I.. I did it._

He took the earrings. After all the work Father’s put forward, Le Paon finally got a hold of Ladybug’s earrings.. Of _Marinette’s_ earrings.

A sigh escaped him as he slumped against the Mansion walls. She sounded absolutely horrified when she realized what was going on. How was he going to apologize? Would she even listen to him after this?

Felix dropped his transformation and slipped inside the mansion, carefully searching for witnesses. He could return her earrings after the wish, right? Would that help? She wouldn’t be missing her kwami then..

Nathalie sat in her usual desk next to Father’s office, but she appeared engrossed in something on the computer, so he was able to slip by unnoticed. Felix quietly hopped up the stairs, a part of him wondering how Father would have handled this. How would Father proceed if he knew that his youngest son was fighting against him with a miraculous they needed? What would he have done to Marinette to get her miraculous afterwards? Would he have made the same choices?

Felix stopped in front of his bedroom door. Whether Father might have done something differently or not didn’t help him now. Felix had the earrings, and Adrien had the ring. It was down to this next conversation. 

Tentatively, he knocked on the door. 

No response.

Felix drew in a breath and opened the door anyway. The room was pitch black, and the faint sound of a fan fluttered around. Was he sleeping? Already? It was a little past midnight, but..

Felix closed the door, and ran a hand through his hair. What should he do now? He couldn’t just wake Adrien up to talk about this. _“Hey, I know you just woke up, but let me tell you about our not-so-dead mother and the fact that your brother and Father are super villains. Also, can I have your ring that I know has been a miraculous this whole time even though you had no idea that I even knew what a miraculous was?”_

Yeah.. he had a feeling that wouldn’t go well.

Felix turned on his heel to go back down the stairs. He would have to talk to Adrien about the wish in the morning. In the meantime, he could hide the earrings in the library. Even if Marinette didn’t know his identity, carrying her Miraculous around provided a flurry of plausible problems that Felix didn’t care to deal with.

 _Tomorrow._ He promised himself, slipping the earrings into a pocket in one of the book shelves. He would talk to Adrien tomorrow, and they would finally have their mother back.

~~~~~~

Two hours. It’d been two hours since Le Paon came and took her miraculous. 

Marinette sat at the bottom of the ladder that led to her balcony, eyes puffed from tears. She couldn’t understand what went wrong. They were supposed to talk and work things out. He was supposed to surrender so they could heal his mother together. How did she let this happen?

Marinette sniffed, trying to think of what Tikki would say in this moment. Maybe she would insist that it wasn’t her fault, or that she did everything she could, but neither of those would be true. This _was_ her fault. She _didn’t_ do everything. If Marinette were _really_ a good Ladybug, she would have swiped Le Paon’s miraculous the first time he visited her balcony. Or even the second time. Or all the other times she let him swing by. 

But she hadn’t. She let him inside, let herself trust him, and he betrayed her.

How long had he known that she was Ladybug? Did he know from the beginning? Were the times they spent together all a lie? A mere ploy to get close enough to grab her miraculous? 

Was his confession a lie too?

Marinette choked out another sob. Stupid, _stupid_! She should have _known_ not to trust him. After his first betrayal towards Ladybug, it should have been obvious that everything else was an act. It just felt so wonderful, having Felix by her side. The quiet smiles he would give to only her, the endless praises on her crafts. She didn’t want to imagine a world without him.

And yet, he was gone.

And so was Tikki.

And she was alone.

Marinette wiped away another tear that spilled down her cheek and looked up at the trapdoor. He’s had her earrings for two hours now. Hawkmoth could do a lot in a mere two hours.

Despite the crushing weight in her chest, Marinette forced herself to her feet. There was no more time for crying. There wasn’t time in the first place, actually. She needed to get her earrings back before Felix went too far. She needed to talk to Master Fu.

-

Sneaking out was the easy part. Maman and Papa had been asleep for four hours already. As long as she got back before four in the morning, they wouldn’t be a problem. It was finding Master Fu that was hard. 

Marinette vaguely remembered a few turns, but she normally relied on Tikki for guidance. The address escaped her too, and her phone’s gps didn’t have a hit for “Fu’s Massage Parlor”. So, she ended up wandering around Paris for a while, avoiding dark alleyways and hoping she was going in the right direction. It must have been her last bits of Ladybug Luck that let her arrive at Master Fu’s around thirty minutes after leaving the bakery. 

Marinette let out a relieved sigh when she saw the sign and quickly started knocking on the door. The first few knocks were met with silence, but she was desperate. She knocked a few more times, and after the eighth round of knocks, Master Fu finally opened the door.

“Master! I’m so sorry to come here this late, but It’s urgent!” She all but spat out. “My miraculous- I didn’t expect him to, but- It’s gone! Felix- he took it and just ran off!”

Master Fu, through his groggy state, managed to pick up the gist of her ramblings and promptly ushered her inside.

“Are you sure you weren’t followed?” He asked, glancing up and down the street.

“Positive.” Felix had no ‘use’ for her without her miraculous. She imagined he wouldn’t even bother to speak with her again after this.

Master Fu nodded and closed the door. “Good. I have something that can help you upstairs.”

Marinette was brought back up to Master Fu’s massaging room where they usually practiced her healing magic. Once inside, he crossed the room and picked up an old phonograph. 

“Before we begin, I’d like to apologize.” Master Fu said as he sat the phonograph down in front of her. “It’s my fault Felix got close enough to take your miraculous.”

Marinette shook her head. “No, Master, you can’t blame yourself. I’m the one that let him inside my home without thinking of the consequences.”

“You don’t understand.” Fu responded. “I had his miraculous, but I gave it back.”

Marinette’s eyes bulged out of her head.

“You- you _what_? When did you have it?” She asked, dumbfounded.

Master Fu sighed. “A few weeks ago, I saw Felix running alone after the giant, movie akuma.”

Marinette pursed her lips. She remembered that night. If the akuma hadn’t appeared she might have kissed Felix for the first time while they ate ice cream. If only she knew then how dangerous he truly was.

“I pretended to be a victim of a mugging, and he offered to help me home. He even came inside and had a cup of tea, sitting where you sit right now.”

Marinette frowned. “If you had his miraculous.. why give it back?”

Regret painted his features. “When I talked with him, he did not seem evil, only desperate. I gave him the miraculous in hopes that he would change his mind and use it to fight against Hawkmoth instead, but..”

He trailed off, and Marinette cast her gaze to the floor.

_But I guess we were both wrong about him._

“Tikki is waiting for you.” Master Fu continued. A renewed determination filled his eyes as he opened the phonograph to reveal multiple platforms of jewelry. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I am entrusting you another miraculous to reclaim your first one. Choose wisely.”

Marinette gasped, watching the miniature shelves pop out of the box. “You mean.. These are _all_ miraculous?”

“Yes, and each holds a specific power.” He explained, pointing out a few. “For example, the fox miraculous can create illusions, and the bee miraculous can paralyze others for a short amount of time.”

“Create illusions?” Marinette pondered aloud. That could help her immensely if she was going to sneak into the Agreste Mansion. An illusion might be able to cloak her movements to the security cameras.

Master Fu nodded and held it up for her. “The illusions will look completely lifelike until someone touches it or you detransform. Then the image you’ve created will fade away.”

 _No one should be touching the illusion if it’s outside._ Marinette thought as she took the miraculous. It was too late for anyone to be up.

“I’ll be back soon.” She promised, slipping on the necklace. 

An orange orb appeared around the tail pendant, and its glow brightened until a small, orange, fox-like kwami appeared.

“Hi-ya!” The creature greeted. “My name’s Trixx, and I’ll be your kwami. If you wanna transform, you just need to say one thing: Trixx, let’s pounce!”

“Good luck, Ladybug.” Master Fu stated as Marinette transformed.

Marinette offered a smile. “You mean ‘Jiāng húlí’.” 

This time, _she’d_ be the one visiting Felix as an alter ego. Let’s see if he’ll be as hospitable as she was.

-

Running across the rooftops was extremely different compared to her usual mode of transportation via yo-yo. Nevertheless, it felt nice to have a miraculous again. A few skyscrapers even gave her a glimpse of her new costume. Her raven hair had been swept up into a long ponytail that trailed down to the back of her knees. The tips of her bangs and ponytail were stark white, and a pair of pointed, orange ears that were also white-tipped sprang from the top of her bangs. Contrary to her red and black spotted Ladybug costume, the fox miraculous bathed her in colors of orange and white. She had a jacket around her waist that was lined with black and had a popped collar, of which the inside was also black. The rest of the jacket was orange, save for the two blotches of white in the middle that continued in a line past her jacket and stopped on the inside of her upper thighs. The fox miraculous acted as a clip for the black zipper in the middle of her jacket. She had a pair white gloves and boots as well, with black lining around each. (Of course, the lining for the gloves was really the lining of the jacket sleeves) A thick, orange belt was also wrapped around her waist, cutting a line between the splashes of white on her midsection and holding her flute tightly to her side.All in all, it didn’t look half bad.

All in all, it didn’t look half bad.

The Agreste Mansion, being _much_ larger in size than Fu’s massage parlor, was mere child’s play to find, and with her renewed, miraculous strength, Marinette managed to get there in a matter of minutes. 

She crept up to the dark windows, hoping the lack of light meant no one was in the room to see her. If Felix found a new miraculous holder sneaking into his house, she doubted that he would think of it as a coincidence, and her only leverage at the moment was his ignorance towards her knowing his true identity. 

Her claws clicked against the glass as she pushed on the windows for an opening. An evil super villain couldn’t sneak out of his house constantly without a way-

A window near the center fell open at her touch. Marinette smiled. 

_Easy now._ She told herself, carefully stepping into the room. The sound of a fan insured that someone was sleeping. It was best not to wake them up.

By the time her feet were firmly on the floor, her eyes were adjusted to the light, and she was able to make out furniture. A couch.. A desk.. A _rockwall_?

Marinette sucked in a breath and immediately started scrambling for a hiding place. This was the boys’ room, meaning Felix was probably in here sleeping. Sleeping! She thought, at the very least, that he would lose a _little_ sleep from betraying her. He really didn’t feel guilty at all, did he?

She shook her head. _Focus_. _If he’s asleep, that means the miraculous is unguarded._

The pads on her feet kept her steps silent as she crossed the room. The earrings shouldn’t be far from Felix, in a pocket, or a drawer, or something. She checked his pockets first- or rather, his clothes. Pajamas didn’t tend to have pockets -by carefully patting him down. It wasn’t easy. He moved a few times, and she was certain he’d woken up when she checked under his pillow. It must have been a miracle that he remained asleep. 

With pockets checked, she went to the drawers. The second and third were filled with nothing but clothes. The _first_ drawer, however..

Marinette gasped, a swirl of bittersweet delight overtaking her at the sight of Felix’s miraculous. What a wonderful opportunity she’d been provided.

“Turnabout’s fair play, _Paon_.” She whispered to herself as she took the miraculous. His panicked face when he noticed his absent miraculous in the morning was going to be a horrible thing to miss. 

Marinette tucked the peacock miraculous away in her belt and turned to keep looking for her miraculous, but a certain sound stopped her in her tracks. A door. Someone was coming into the boys’ room. A sliver of light entered the dark abyss, quickly growing as the door opened further. Marinette rushed to the side of the room to avoid it, scurrying up a winding staircase. She pressed herself against the shelves above and tried to control her rapid breathing. Was someone coming to check on them or did Gabriel see her on the security cameras? Would she be able to fight off Gorilla and possibly more if that were the case?

A creak emitted from the door as it opened fully, and a single woman walked into the bedroom, straight and tall. Aside from her clicking heels, she was quiet as a mouse as she crossed the room to the boys’ bed. Strangely, she opened the very drawer that Marinette had searched through a moment earlier. When she opened it, though, she paused, almost like she expected to see something else. Then- curiouser, still -the woman started digging through the drawer. 

How interesting.

It took a few seconds, but the woman finally muttered some curses to herself and left the room, looking quite displeased. Marinette might have considered following her under different circumstances. Unfortunately, her time stamp didn’t allow it. In walking into the room, the woman caused the illusion to fade. The cameras might catch her any moment. Marinette didn’t mind. She now had more leverage than the knowledge of Felix’s identity. If he was dumb enough to go to school tomorrow, she would lure him into a private area there. He might not care to look at her anymore, but Marinette was going to drag him by the ear anyway. 

Mark her words, Felix was going to wish he never betrayed the hero of Paris.

~~~~~~

Sunlight poured into the bedroom as Felix got ready. He fiddled with the buttons on his dark grey vest, too nervous to think properly. Adrien was currently in the bathroom freshening up. When he came out, Felix was going to have to find a way to tell him that their long-lost mother was actually in a coma under their _house_. (Seriously, couldn’t Father find a less unsettling place to hide her?)

Heaven only knows how his brother was going to react. Felix might have agreed to help, but Adrien has been playing hero during this whole fiasco. With all of those battles stored in his mind, the personal insults shot at each other and near-death experiences, he probably won’t be as easily.. persuaded. Not to mention, Felix was going to have to get Adrien _down_ to the basement. Chances were, he wouldn’t be able to do that without Father seeing them. Ugh, so many obstacles!

The bathroom door opened, and Felix tensed. 

“Hey, Fe, did you move the toothpaste?” Adrien asked as he walked out.

Felix almost smiled. Such an innocent question for such a serious topic he was about to bring up. “No, but-”

“Oh, nevermind.” Adrien cut him off, spinning on his heel. “I just remembered that I saw it in the mirror cabinet.”

Felix stared as his brother closed the bathroom door again. He could already see how this was going to go. Heaving a sigh, he walked over to his bedside drawer to grab his miraculous. Maybe Duusu would have some advice. 

The drawer slid open, and a few of the contents inside rolled with it, but there was no miraculous. Felix furrowed his eyebrows and started digging through the drawer a bit. He could have sworn that he put it in there the night before. It’s where he always puts it when he takes it off. 

_Maybe I set it somewhere else?_ He thought with a frown, starting to check under the bed and in the other drawers. He’d been a bit out of last night, but it couldn’t be far, since he’d definitely used it last night. 

“Felix? Did you lose something?”

Felix shot up at his brother’s voice, causing him to smack his head on the bottom of Adrien’s desk that he’d begun looking under. “Ah! Yes, I’m- everything’s fine. It’s nothing.”

 _It’s not like I need it anymore, anyway._ Felix reminded himself as he rubbed the back of his head. _I have the earrings, and soon I’ll have the ring_ too.

“Adrien,” Felix began, trying not to glance at his brother’s ring while he stood, “do you ever.. I don’t know.. Think about mom?”

Adrien hesitated, obviously not expecting the question. “Uh.. I mean.. Of course I do. All the time. Why?” 

“Do you ever wonder what would happen if we could bring her back?” 

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows. “Sometimes.. But that’s not possible, so I try not to think about it.”

 _Boy, are you in for a surprise._ Felix refrained from saying. “What if you could? Would you do what it took to have her back?”

Adrien completely frowned now. “Felix-”

“Boys.”

The brothers turned to see Nathalie in the doorway. When did she come in?

“Gorilla is waiting for you downstairs.” She informed. “Please hurry.”

Felix and Adrien nodded, and Nathalie left the room as quickly as she’d come. He turned back to Adrien, hoping to continue the conversation, but his brother had already grabbed his bag and started for the door.

Before he fully rounded the corner, though, Adrien stopped. 

“Felix, about Mom.. I miss her as much as anybody, but I don’t think she would want us to grieve over her like this. Having Mom back would be great, but would she really want us to go ‘above and beyond’ just to bring her back?” 

Adrien left before Felix could reply, though he’s not sure he would have had a response, anyway. Mother _wouldn’t_ want them to obsess over her. She would them to live their lives and be happy.. 

Too bad it’s too late to back out now. 

-

School that day came with a whole _new_ level of anxiety. He couldn’t help glancing left and right as he walked up the steps. Marinette could be anywhere, and she had to be worried for her miraculous, though she might not show it. She didn’t know his identity, so he should be fine, but the guilt that would smother him upon seeing her wasn’t an experience he was excited to go through.

He pondered not attending school himself, in all honesty. Alas, he didn’t have a good excuse to stay home. So here he was, carrying his bag to his locker and getting ready to burn through classes as fast as possible.

“Felix.”

Goosebumps crawled across his skin at the sound of Marinette’s voice. Why was everyone sneaking up on him today?

He reluctantly turned to greet her and had to force a neutral expression when he saw her smile. That didn’t look like someone who was grieving the loss of a miraculous.

“I want to talk to you.” She said, the usual, perky tone noticeably lacking in her voice.

The hair on the back of Felix’s neck stood up. “Uh.. that’s very kind of you-” Very kind of her? How did that response make sense? “-but class is going to be starting soon, so I need to get going.”

He moved to pass her, but she grabbed his wrist, her grip iron-tight. “I wasn’t asking.”

She yanked him backwards, slamming him against the lockers. Felix gasped for air, his eyes blowing wide with shock. Was this really happening? Marinette has never been violent in her life! He glanced around the locker room for witnesses, only to find that they were completely alone. Something told him that wasn’t a coincidence.

Marinette pressed her forearm to his chest, pinning him to the lockers. “Where did you put them!”

Felix struggled in vain to pull her arm away. Had she always been this strong in civilian form? “Put what?!”

“My _miraculous_!” She hissed, pushing harder. “Where are they!”

Felix’s eyes snapped to hers. The miraculous? She was asking his _civilian_ form about her miraculous? But that meant..

He stopped struggling. “..You know.”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed into a glare. “Yeah. And, apparently, so did you.”

Felix might have felt guilty towards the jab had his mind not been reeling. How long had she known that he was Le Paon? When did she find out? _How_ did she find out? 

“Tell me you didn’t use the wish.” She spoke again, bringing Felix from his thoughts.

“Not yet. I still need the ring.” He answered honestly.

Her entire body seemed to loosen at the news. “Good. Where are my earrings?”

“They’re hidden in the mansion.”

“Then you’re taking me there to get them.”

Felix shook his head. “I can’t.”

“You _can_ , and you _will_.” She remarked, her voice dripping with venom. He didn’t know she was capable of sounding so threatening.

Still, Felix held his ground. “Marinette, you don’t understand-”

“No, _you_ don’t understand!” Marinette shot back. “That wish is dangerous! It has _consequences_! If you use it to heal your mother, someone else is going to take her place!”

Take her place? “What do you mean?”

Marinette sighed. “The universe needs to be _balanced_. If you heal Emilie from an incurable coma, someone else will fall into an incurable coma as a result. Did you honestly think that I was fighting tooth and nail to keep my miraculous for the fun of it all?”

Felix furrowed his eyebrows. No, that.. That can’t be right. Father had never mentioned a consequence to using the wish. 

“..I had hoped that was the case.” Was all he ended up saying.

Marinette huffed. “You’re so infuriating! Call Gorilla or whoever drives you. You’re taking me to get my miraculous back, unless you want me to keep this..”

She pulled something out of her pocket, and though Felix swore he’d seen everything that morning already, his jaw dropped when he saw his miraculous in her hands. 

“How did-”

“That’s not important.” She cut him off sharply. “Call the car. _Now_.”

“W-Wait!” So many things were happening at once. “I can’t just take you to our house during school! Nathalie’s never going to let that fly.”

Marinette thought that over. “..I don’t trust you enough to wait till after school.”

The words sank into his heart like knives, but he couldn’t blame her. “That’s completely fair, but your plan will never work as is.”

“And what do you propose we do instead?” She inquired, raising a brow.

Felix swallowed. “We can go after school, _and_ -” he emphasized the ‘and’ before she could interrupt “-to ease your mind, I will check in with you after every class period. Our class schedules are relatively the same. We can even have lunch together if that makes you feel better.”

Disgruntlement flickered across her features at the notion of eating together. Felix would be lying if he said that didn’t bother him.

“If I sense _any sort_ of foul play-”

“You won’t.” He promised. “Heck, take my phone for good measure.”

Marinette’s expression leveled, and she held out her hand. “Deal.”

Despite still being pinned to the lockers, Felix managed to dig out his phone and hand it to her. 

Marinette, being satisfied, dropped him as she pocketed the phone. “See you after classes, Agreste.”

Felix watched her sweep out of the room, noting the fact that she kept an eye on him the whole time. She must truly see him as a monster now if she’s waiting for him to pounce like that. He rubbed his chest where her forearm had been, knowing it would probably leave some type of bruise later, and headed for his first class. 

Today was decidedly _not_ going as planned.


	18. Chapter 18

The lead of the pencil scratched across the paper as Marinette drew another flower. True to his word, Felix had passed her classroom after each period, subtly giving her a nod or wave to acknowledge the check in. Marinette decided to mark off the classes by drawing flowers. That way, anyone- *cough* Alya *cough* -watching would think she was just doodling. The strategy’s worked well so far, and now she only had one class left before lunch.

Marinette pulled her lip between her teeth and reached down to fiddle with the peacock miraculous again. She’d hardly let it go since her confrontation with Felix. He seemed genuinely surprised about the consequences of the wish, but she’d seen too many ‘genuine’ things from him to trust that again. So It helped ease her mind a bit knowing that Felix was currently powerless. If he _did_ intend on twisting the odds again, he’d have to jump through a few more hoops than before. 

That begs the question, though: If Felix _was_ telling the truth, what happens next? She’ll get back her miraculous and heal Emilie, but will Felix keep fighting with Hawk Moth? What if he still felt a morbid sense of loyalty towards the terrorist? What if Hawkmoth pressures him to get the miraculous anyway as payback for the peacock miraculous? Does this whole fiasco boil down to what _Hawkmoth_ really wants?

“Hey, girl! You ready for lunch?” Alya asked, drawing her from her thoughts.

Marinette blinked. “Lunch?”

“Yeah, it’s time for our lunch break.”

Marinette turned to the rest of the class, who were already filing out of the classroom. Was class over? She didn’t realize she’d spaced out that long.

“Anyway, I was thinking of the park? We haven’t eaten there in a while.” Alya continued thoughtfully.

“Oh, actually,” Marinette said, “I’m eating lunch with Felix today.”

She held back a wince when Alya’s gaze snapped to hers. “You’re _what_?”

“Yeah..” Marinette sighed, standing up to gather her things. “He- um -we have a few fashion things to talk about? So we decided to eat lunch together.”

“And _when_ were you going to tell me?” Alya asked, clearly offended that she’d been left out of the loop.

“It only just happened this morning.” Marinette offered sheepishly. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”

Please _don’t make it that big of a deal._

“What? Girl, that’s a big score! Even if it’s not an official date, it’s still lunch together!” Alya insisted, now getting giddy with the news. Great. “I’ll forgive you for forgetting to tell me, but I want all the deets afterwards as an apology!”

Marinette plastered on a smile. She couldn’t blame her best friend for accidentally hitting a sore spot. Her romantic feelings for Felix fading away because of a betrayal involving both of their miraculous is a scoop that even Alya couldn’t have guessed. Marinette didn’t guess it either. “Sure, Alya.”

The two girls said their goodbyes, and Alya pranced off to tell the rest of the girl gang about Marinette’s “unofficial date” with Felix. It was a hollowing feeling, watching everyone get to live their lives as if nothing earth-shattering had happened. Marinette was barely holding it together, fueled by her rage and determination alone, and no one knew. Well, no one except Felix, but he’d been the cause of the damage. That wasn’t exactly a comfort for her. Will she have to act like nothing’s happened between them for the rest of her life? That will be hard considering Alya and the others are still trying to push them together.

Marinette checked her phone as she walked towards the cafeteria. She’d tried to call Chat Noir as Jiāng húlí several times, but he must not have been transformed. It went straight to voicemail. She had to give Master Fu the fox miraculous soon after, so she crossed her fingers that he might get the message of her distress and contact her.

A part of her wondered what he would say if he knew what had happened. He’d been the first to warn her, after all. He told her that Le Paon wasn’t to be trusted, and what did she do? She threw away the statements without a second thought. All because of some fickle emotions. At least she’d learned her lesson: Villains can shine and sparkle like heroes (or more) as much as they want, but at the end of the day.. At the end of the day, they’re just that. Villains. 

Felix may sound sweet and worried, and she may still be in love with him to an agonizing amount, but Marinette is committed to not learning that lesson a second time.

~~~~~~

Felix brushed a hand against his vest as he slipped his tablet into his bag. He hadn’t realized how accustomed he’d grown to wearing the peacock miraculous. Without it on, his outfit felt.. incomplete. 

“Do you think we can make it to that restaurant in time?” Allegra asked to no one in particular, wrapping her purse around her shoulder.

“If Felix gets his driver to take us.” Claude replied with a smile.

Felix glanced up from his bag. “Oh, I can’t join you for lunch today.”

Claude snorted. “Come on, Fe, you can’t get out of it that easily.”

“Yeah, you should have learned that when you tried a lame excuse last semester.” Allan added with a smile.

Felix rolled his eyes. “No, I really can’t. I’m having lunch with Marinette today.”

The group paused, their eyes widening from shock.

Then-

“ _What_?!” Claude burst out.

“You finally got together!” Allegra cheered. 

“When did _that_ happen?” Allan asked.

Felix waved down their reactions, along with his own guilt. “It’s not like that. In fact, I..”

Her near-murderous glare resurfaced in his mind.

“I don’t think it’s going to work out between us.” He admitted softly.

The group frowned, each sharing a look with the other.

“But you guys are perfect together.” Allegra attempted to console. “You’ve gotten along wonderfully so far.”

“She accepted your offer to lunch, right?” Claude added. “That’s a good sign.”

Felix held back a bitter laugh. They were _not_ talking about the same situation.

Allan gave him a gentle pat on the back. “Don’t worry, man. If you love her, and she loves you, everything will turn out fine.”

_But is love enough to overcome betrayal?_

He hoped he was wrong when he said he didn’t think so.

“I’ll see you after lunch.” Was all Felix ended up muttering. Marinette would be waiting for him. No need to break her trust in him further, if that was even possible. 

“Bye..” Allegra said, a hint of concern in her tone. Felix was concerned too. Not only had he lied to Father about his knowledge of Ladybug’s identity, he had secretly stolen Ladybug’s earrings, and now he was giving them _back_ , all without Father’s consent. This was no doubt the best course of action, but that didn’t mean the consequences would be any less severe. Felix imagined he’d be pulled from school when Father found out and grounded from everything. Marinette would most certainly be banned from their premises a second time. 

He’d backed himself into a corner, and the only option now was to race against the clock and heal Emilie before Gabriel could figure out their plan and unleash his rage. 

-

Courage was the first thing to go as Felix approached Marinette’s table. She’d chosen to eat outside, taking the table furthest from the school grounds. It gave them the most privacy without actually leaving. He wouldn’t expect anything less from the clever Ladybug, but it pained him that she felt the need to take such precautions. 

Quietly, he set his bag on the ground next to the chair across from her and sat down. Marinette didn’t react. She merely sat there scribbling something in a notebook. He peered over the paper as best he could without standing and managed to catch a couple of words.

_Escape Plan._

Felix looked down at his hands, shame churning and twisting inside him. So there really was no trust left between them, huh?

“How were your classes?” He asked, if only to break the soul-crushing silence.

Marinette shot him a glare immediately. “Don’t act like you care.”

Felix tensed. “I-” _I do care. So much._ “I was just trying to make conversation.”

Marinette scoffed and set down her pencil. Or rather, slammed it on the table in annoyance. “You want to talk? Fine. Who’s Hawkmoth? How did you two become partners?”

Felix grimaced. She always managed to ask the hardest questions. “That’s a.. long story.”

Marinette narrowed her eyes, and he could tell he’d given the wrong answer. What else could he do, though? Hawkmoth was his _Father_. Felix couldn’t just give him up.

“Fine.” She said, pure agitation in her voice now. “How did you know who I was? What gave me away.” 

“Ah, well..” He might as well tell her, right? They both knew each other’s identities so what was the harm? “Yesterday, after the akuma attack, I saw you swinging off alone and thought I’d follow you-”

“Wait.” Marinette interrupted, her eyebrows knitted together. “Did you say _yesterday_?”

Felix nodded. “We’d been planning to follow you for a while, but Chat Noir always got in the way. Yesterday was the first time I’d been able to catch you alone. That’s when I saw you transform.”

A mix of emotions washed over her features, mostly skepticism. “So you mean to tell me that you _haven’t_ known Marinette was Ladybug this whole time? That you only found out last night, a few hours before you stole my miraculous?”

Now Felix was frowning. “Yes? Did you think I would risk saving you or coming to your house as Le Paon if I knew you were Ladybug? I can be reckless, but I’m not that reckless.”

Marinette didn’t reply. She stared down at her notebook, lost in deep thought. When she finally spoke, though, it was soft, and he almost had to lean forward to hear it. 

“Then why?”

“Pardon?” What did she mean ‘why’?

Marinette looked up, and Felix’s heart sank when he saw the tears brimming in her eyes. 

“ _Why_?” She repeated, harsher and louder than before. “Why waste all those nights coming to my house or talking with me at school if you didn’t know who I was? What was the point if not to get close enough to take the earrings for the wish?” 

“Marinette, I..” Felix trailed off, frozen by her sudden grief. She looked so desperate, so broken, and he did this to her. 

He reached out to her, touched her hand to comfort or relieve or _something_ , but she pulled away.

“Why say you love me,” She whispered, looking back down at her notebook, “if you didn’t mean it?”

Felix almost shot out of his chair at the accusation. Was _this_ what she’d been telling herself since yesterday? That all of their times together, their not-quite-dates, their kiss, his love.. was some sort of elaborate lie to get jewelry? No wonder she was furious! He’d be beside himself if he found out she was lying to him like that!

“Marinette,” He began carefully, “I know our friendship is currently unpleasant and shaky at best, but please trust me when I say that I meant every word I said to you.” 

Marinette sniffed and brushed a few stray tears away. Each one dropped another anchor on Felix’s heart. 

“How can I?” She asked after a moment. “How can I trust you when _you_ didn’t trust _me_? We spent _months_ together, Felix! We had sleepovers and deep, late night talks and ate ice cream together and supported each other over everything. After all of that, why would you-” Her quiet sob cut her short, and she shook her head. “Why didn’t you just _talk_ to me?”

Now _that_ was a question. Why _didn’t_ he just talk to her? He thought he was avoiding hurt by taking the earrings quickly, but that obviously failed. He may have avoided physical injuries, but he’d much rather those at this point. 

No, the real reason was that Felix didn’t want to be torn over whether he should continue to save his mother or not. He had the miraculous. He had the wish. He saw the light at the end of the tunnel and didn’t want to know if the light would be dimmer than he’d originally thought.

“I was a coward.” He admitted, burying his hand in his hair. “After missing my Mother and wishing her back for so long, I was afraid of what you would tell me when I told you the truth. I didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that the miraculous might not bring her back.”

Gosh, he’d made so many mistakes. He shouldn’t have accepted the peacock miraculous. He shouldn’t have let his Father terrorize the city for so long in a misguided cause. He shouldn’t have procrastinated about talking to Ladybug for possible peace. He shouldn’t have kept fighting when he learned that Adrien was Chat Noir. He shouldn’t have taken Marinette’s earrings when he learned the truth. He just _shouldn’t have_.

Marinette sighed, bringing him from his thoughts. “Okay.”

Felix’s eyes widened. “Okay?”

Marinette brushed the last bit of tears from her eyes and nodded. “I can’t say that I completely trust you yet, but.. If you’re serious about this, I’m willing to give it a shot.”

Felix’s heart skipped a beat.

“T-That’s all I need!” He promised. Talking with him during lunch had been better than he’d dreamed. Giving him another chance was an absolute miracle for him. “Thank you.”

Marinette didn’t answer. With the conversation more or less finished, she pulled out her lunch box to start eating. It was then that Felix’s own stomach growled, and he coughed. The tension from their predicament caused him to forget the reason they were able to meet outside and talk in the first place.

“So.. I have a question.” Felix said as he pulled out his own lunch. “If that’s alright with you, of course.”

Marinette briefly glanced up from her soup. “..I guess.” 

Felix drew in a small breath. “Assuming you didn’t follow me like I did you.. how did you know who I was?”

Marinette jokingly sucked in a breath between her teeth, giving a ‘yikes’ expression. “Yeah~ my discovery wasn’t as nice as a simple stalking.”

Felix smiled. Seeing her jest brought him a small, renewed sense of hope that everything might turn out okay between them after all. “So? What happened?”

“Remember that night you came to my house after getting shot?” 

He actually grimaced and touched his side. “ _Do_ I? If I didn’t have Duusu, I’d still be wincing every time I breathed.”

“ _About that_..” Marinette said, pulling on her pigtail slightly. “I _may or may not_ have actually been the one to heal you.”

Felix blinked. That.. that made a lot of sense. “But Duusu never mentioned anything about you healing me?”

Marinette dropped her pigtail to push her fingers together as she explained, “When you passed out on my bed, you ended up detransforming too. That’s how I figured out your identity. Of course, I freaked out a bit, but you were still bleeding so I put that aside for the time being.”

A small smile crossed Felix’s lips. Only Marinette could push through a ‘huge reveal’ like that and talk as if it were nothing.

“It was around that time that my powers activated and healed your wound. Duusu was very sweet about the whole thing, and after a small conversation, she promised not to say anything unless you asked specifically.” Marinette finished. “You have no idea how frustrating it was. I couldn’t talk to you about the miraculous because I wasn’t ready to reveal myself yet, but you wouldn’t talk to Ladybug.”

Felix let out a sheepish laugh. “Right.. I’m sorry I put you through that.” 

Marinette shrugged. “Can’t take it back now.”

Felix nodded. No matter the amount of regret and guilt welling up inside him, he couldn’t change the past. He supposed he could soothe himself by saying it wasn’t all bad, though. Taking the peacock miraculous was undoubtedly a horrible decision, but it led to him seeing Marinette on a more personal level, which then led to a more personal friendship between them. Well, for him it did. She wasn’t aware of his identity at the time.

“Hold on.” Felix spoke up, sitting up slightly at his miniature revelation. “You said you figured out my identity when I passed out from the gunshot. That means you knew who I was when I kissed you.”

A blush bloomed across Marinette’s cheeks. “Well.. _yes_.”

“And you kissed me back.”

Her blush deepened. “ _Yep_.”

Felix’s heart pounded in his chest. “So.. what does that mean?”

It was selfish and unfair to ask her such questions during these trying times, and some might say it should be obvious by now, but he wanted- no, he _needed_ the confirmation. Did she love him or not?

“I..” Marinette fiddled with her utensil as she searched for words. “It’s complicated. I can’t say that I don’t love you-”

Felix sucked in a quiet breath. 

“-but it’s different now.” She answered honestly. “I just.. I need time. I’m still on the edge because of what you did, you know?” 

“Take all the time you need.” Felix responded, hoping his eagerness didn’t bleed through his voice. Marinette loved him! I mean, they’ve already kissed, like, twice, but still! Just to hear it from her lips made his heart nearly burst. 

A small smile graced Marinette’s lips, and she went back to eating, as Felix did a moment later. It was hard to eat when one’s entire body was buzzing with euphoria, though.

The bell rang a few minutes later, causing them to say their farewells to each other and separate. Felix knew there were still a decent amount of trials left to face before this was over, but after that confession.. He couldn’t help feeling a tad optimistic.

~~~~~~

It was commonplace for students to flood out of the classroom at the end of their last class, and although Marinette usually picked up the pace to leave, she was certain she’d made record time that day. Felix must have had the same idea, because he was at her side within seconds as well. She offered him a small glance, acknowledging his presence, but nothing more. 

The conversation they’d shared over lunch had been relieving to say the least. When he essentially told her that he still loved her, she nearly sank to the floor with the amount of weight that’d been suddenly lifted from her shoulders. That meant this dwindled down to Felix wanting to save his Mother and making the wrong decision to do so. _However_ , Marinette didn’t want to let her guard down just yet. She had no way of knowing how informed Hawkmoth was on the situation. Even if Felix means well, there might be traps lying ahead of her at the Agreste Mansion that he’s unaware of. 

“By the way,” Felix spoke up, earning her gaze again, “Father may or may not have banned you from our house after your last visit, meaning we’ll have to be careful about your entrance.” 

Marinette pursed her lips. That probably shouldn’t surprise her. “When did this ‘banishment’ happen?”

Felix’s eyes flicked up briefly in thought. “Uh.. I think a few weeks ago? I meant to tell you before today, but things kept coming up.”

Marinette hummed, knowing the exact ‘things’ he was referring to.

“Oh, Marinette’s coming with us today?” 

Marinette turned to the new voice and saw Adrien exiting the classroom. She almost forgot that he’d be riding with them.

“She wanted to borrow a book from our Library,” Felix answered smoothly, “So I invited her over.”

Adrien smiled. “Great! I have to practice piano, but I trust Felix to help you out.” 

“Thanks.” Marinette said politely. _I hope I can trust him too._

“So how did you get Father to agree to this?” Adrien asked next, mostly facing Felix now.

Marinette didn’t miss the subtle look of agitation that Felix shot his brother. 

“He doesn’t know.”

Adrien’s eyes widened, and an amused smirk slipped onto his lips. “Oh? How do you plan to get her inside then?”

Marinette crossed her arms, a smirk of her own creeping up. She’d like to know that answer as well.

Felix playfully rolled his eyes. “I have my ways.”

-

A shiver ran up Marinette’s spine as Felix led her through the back entrance to the Agreste Mansion. Who would’ve thought that the only secret way in and out was a walk-in freezer that connected to the outside world? It made her wonder how Felix managed to come across this little escape tactic. Was it pure coincidence? A mere observation when orders arrived? Or had he been actively searching for a hidden exit?

Goosebumps crawled across her skin, and she gave in slightly to the cold, letting herself shudder and rubbing her hands against her biceps for warmth.

Felix glanced over his shoulder at her, seeming blissfully untouched by the drop in temperature. “Are you cold?”

“What? Being cold in a freezer? Of course not! I was just about to take off my jacket.” Marinette retorted. 

Felix chuckled, his breath clouding in front of him. “I see we’ve resorted to sarcasm now? You must truly be at your limit.”

“Yes, it’s been a long day for all of us, I’m sure.” Marinette replied, pulling her jacket tighter around her.

Felix reached ahead and pushed open another metal door, revealing the kitchen area of the Mansion on the other side. Marinette didn’t hesitate to dash through the doorway. She shuddered again as the room temperature wrapped around her, neutralizing the previous chill of the air. _Sweet, blessed heat._

“Is that better?” Felix asked, closing the metal door behind him.

Marinette nodded. “Much better, thank you.”

Felix offered a smile. “Of course. The library’s right around the corner.” 

The two made their way out of the kitchen and down the hall. Felix checked for Gabriel’s secretary or Gabriel himself, and when he called the all clear, they slipped into the library together. 

Marinette caught a glimpse of Adrien walking up the stairs as they moved. He noticed her too and shot her a wink. Marinette allowed herself a small smile at the sight. At least Adrien wasn’t knee-deep involved in this miraculous mess.

“Thank you for doing this.” Felix commented as he walked to one of the aisles. “It really does mean the world to me that you’re still willing to help Mother after everything we’ve done.”

Marinette shrugged, not missing the fact that he said ‘we’. It seemed strange that he would group Hawkmoth in with his actions in relation to his mother, as if this might have been a goal for his partner as well. “I’m the hero of Paris, right? I have a responsibility. I can’t just turn my back on the people who need me.”

Felix nodded. “Right..”

He stopped at the end of an aisle and brushed his fingers across the second to top shelf. Once he got to a certain point, Felix stopped and pulled out a couple of books. Behind the books lay a rectangle outline on the back of the shelf. Marinette watched with awe as he easily pulled the rectangle out of the wall, revealing a small drawer.

“When did you make that?” She asked, marveling at the detail.

“Well, when you have a Father like mine, you learn to-” Felix stopped short, his body stiffening.

Marinette frowned and took a step forward. “Felix? Are you okay?”

Felix didn’t respond, instead staring down at the drawer in disbelief. 

“They’re.. They’re gone.”

Marinette’s heart stopped.

“Gone?” She repeated. “What do you mean gone?”

“I-I mean gone!” Felix said, his voice quickly rising in panic. “They were right here! I put them in this pocket and went to bed, and I haven’t touched them since!”

Marinette to control her breathing as she took in his words. If the earrings weren’t here, _where were they_? “Felix, if this is some kind of trick-”

“No! I swear they were right here!”

“Indeed they were.”

Marinette’s blood ran cold when Gabriel’s voice rose behind them. Felix shot up as well, pure terror exploding across his face. The sight unnerved her to the core. She’d never seen Felix so scared.

“I’ll admit I’m impressed.” Gabriel mused. “That little drawer of yours is a magnificent hiding place. Had it not been for our security cameras, I don’t believe I would have found it.”

Marinette’s gaze flicked to the ceiling, where a tiny camera was placed. A touch of annoyance swirled through her mind. She should have known there would be cameras everywhere.

“I have to say I’m disappointed, Felix.” The man continued. “I gave you the opportunity to help your poor, sick Mother, and what do you do? You lie and go behind your own Father’s back. I wasn’t even aware you knew who Ladybug was, let alone that you got her earrings.”

Despite the fresh wave of adrenaline coursing through her, along with the steadily growing horror, Marinette turned to face Gabriel. The news that Felix had been acting of his own accord the entire time surprised her, but that wasn’t what caught her attention. Only two people aside from herself and Felix knew about Felix’s motives or the fact that he was Le Paon, and Gabriel Agreste certainly wasn’t Master Fu. 

“Hawkmoth.” She said, her hands clenching at her sides. It wasn’t a question.

Gabriel looked down at her, a disturbing, small smile creeping onto his lips. He didn’t appear to be bothered in the slightest that she’d discovered his identity. 

She felt Felix take a step closer to her.

“Ah, Mlle. Dupain Cheng.” Gabriel purred. His eyes shined with absolute glee in a horrible, psychotic way, like he’d finally lured his prey into the perfect trap. “I thought I made it quite clear that you are not welcome on my estate, but my son clearly has trouble following the rules. However, I have to wonder: Why would he bring you to the miraculous’ hiding place? Perhaps Felix decided to show me Ladybug’s identity after all.”

“Father that’s enough.” Felix stated sternly, finally regaining his voice. He stepped around Marinette, putting a make-shift barrier between her and Gabriel. “There’s no need to fight. Marinette has a solution to heal Mother without the wish! She just needs her earrings back to do it.”

Gabriel scoffed, his smile immediately fading. “Don’t be naive. She only wants her earrings back! You think she won’t say anything to get them?”

Marinette saw the edges of Felix’s expression fall.

“Isn’t it worth trying?” He continued, his voice falling from stern to pleading. “We can’t use the wish, or someone else will get hurt. There’s a curse that comes with it. If we save her life with the wish, someone has to take her place.”

“You wouldn’t sacrifice anything to have her back? To be a family again?” Gabriel shot back. 

“Not when we don’t have to!” Felix countered. “We don’t even have Chat Noir’s ring yet. The least we can do is try to heal her peacefully without consequences!”

“So you’re choosing that brat over me? Your Father?” Gabriel asked, his eyes narrowing with disgust and disapproval. 

Felix clenched his fists. “ _You’re_ choosing to sacrifice someone’s _life_ over saving everyone!”

“No.” Marinette spoke up, having enough. How could a father pull their own son into terrorist attacks? How could he push Felix into danger time and time again with no remorse? It was unspeakable!

She stepped forward and stood tall as she continued, “He only wants the power. This stopped being about Emilie and family a long time ago.”

Gabriel scowled. “How dare you question my integrity! Losing Emilie was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, and I will do _anything_ to get her back!”

“Where are my miraculous?” She demanded, ignoring his ‘righteous fury’.

“Safe.” He responded sharply. “And out of your reach.”

“I won’t let you use the wish.”

A grim smile twisted onto Gabriel’s lips once more. “I’d like to see you try now that you’re powerless.”

Marinette was tempted to smile herself as she grabbed the peacock miraculous from her back pocket. “Not quite.”

Let’s see what Felix miraculous can _really_ do.


	19. Chapter 19

Felix held his ground next to Marinette, worried and terrified at the same time. He thought telling his Father about the wish would discourage him from using it, but his Father only got angry, instead, spouting nonsense about “sacrifices” and “family”. Why was he angry? There was still a cure. There was no need to fight! Why wouldn’t he listen?

Marinette stepped forward and confronted his Father’s true intentions, which only made him angrier. Felix tried to calm the situation as it escalated, but Marinette promised to get the miraculous back, while Gabriel promised not to let that happen. It wasn’t until she pulled out his peacock miraculous that Felix realized compromise and negotiation weren’t options anymore.

“Duusu, spread my feathers!” Marinette cried, quickly pinning the miraculous to the lower front of her shirt. The familiar blue light he’d gotten used to seeing flash over his skin washed over her body, and Marinette’s casual outfit disappeared. The miraculous replaced it with a royal blue dress that faded into different colored feathers such as purple, dark blue, and indigo. Her gloves and high-heeled boots, which extended to her knees and mid-biceps respectively, were also royal blue, and the ends of each were covered in a dark blue, feather-shaped pattern that trailed up to the navy blue part of the suit, such as her collar bone, neck, and thighs. A short shawl made entirely of purple feathers wrapped around her shoulders as well, connected by a small, indigo pearl. It brought out the sparkling fuchsia that lined the front and back of the royal blue dress perfectly. If it weren’t for the circumstances, Felix might have been tempted to stop and study the fabric in all its magnificence. 

Gabriel’s expression twisted with rage. “How did you get that?”

Marinette unclasped one of her fans from a metal button on the back of her dress and held it in front of her, showing the sharpness of the curved tip. “Let’s say it was a present from your son.”

Felix grimaced at the look of disdain his Father shot him.

“You _gave_ her your _miraculous_?!” He fumed.

“No, I-!” 

“Don’t talk back to me!” His Father growled. “I should have known not to trust you from the beginning!” 

Felix flinched back as Gabriel lunged forward in a fit of rage. Before they could collide, though, a feather-shaped knife sank deep into Gabriel’s shirt sleeve, pinning him to a bookshelf. Felix looked to Marinette, who was already pulling another throwing knife out of her hair. He had thought the feathers that decorated her spread out bun were simply that, a decoration.

“Felix, run!” She ordered, throwing the second knife to pin Gabriel’s other arm to the bookshelf. “Go find my miraculous!”

“I’m not leaving you!” Felix argued, taking a step back from his struggling Father. The whole reason he took her miraculous in the first place was to protect her from this exact encounter.

Marinette stepped in front of him, but glanced over her shoulder as she said, “I’ll be fine. I have Duusu. Now go!”

Felix clenched his fists. He hated the idea of leaving her alone, but he didn’t have a miraculous. Anything he tried to do now would only get in her way.

Fueled by adrenaline, Felix stumbled to the other end of the aisle and sprinted towards the Library’s entrance. He almost ran into Gorilla on his way out. _Earrings, Earrings_ \- where would Father put Marinette’s earrings if he had them? This house was enormous. They could be anywhere!

He started with the office first, checking the only hiding place he knew Father had: the safe. Felix pulled open his Mother’s painting, and.. They weren’t there. He checked behind the smaller pictures, under the books, and practically pulled everything else out. There was nothing.

“Where are you?” He grumbled to himself, lifting up another pile of books.

“So you finally show your true colors.”

Felix froze, slowly turning around to see none other than Nathalie. She stood in front of him, wearing a crap-eating grin. He should have known she would appear eventually. Nathalie was always eager to be Father’s back up.

“I always knew you weren’t worthy of Gabriel’s trust.” She said, tilting her head up with all the poise of a condescending twit. 

Felix heaved a tired sigh. “And I always knew you’d be the first one to lay down and let him treat you like a dog once I came to my senses.” 

He didn’t want to believe what Marinette said about Father wanting power instead of Mother, but the proof was right in front of him. If Father truly cared about their family and Mother’s well-being, he would let Marinette try to cure her! And if family wasn’t what Father cared about, what else was left but power?

Nathalie let out a snooty little laugh. “Of course you would think that. You don’t understand _anything_. Your Father is a _loving_ man who is doing the best that he can to raise you two and heal your Mother!”

“ _Raise_ us?” Felix scoffed. “He barely _talks_ to us! And right now, _he’s_ the one standing in the way of healing my Mother. So tell me where the earrings are!”

Nathalie tisked and tilted her head slightly to the side, just enough for him to catch a glimpse of the black, circular earrings she was wearing. “They’re safe. _Much_ safer than they were in your hands. Unlike you, _I_ won’t be handing them back over to the enemy so easily.”

Felix shifted into a fighting position. “We’ll see about that.”

“Oh, you want to fight me now?” She asked, a smirk reappearing on her lips. When Felix didn’t answer, the smirk widened. “Good. I’ve been wanting to punch you in that perfect face of yours for _years_. Tikki, spots on!”

Felix’s eyes widened as Nathalie transformed in front of him. He hadn’t expected her to actually _use_ the miraculous!

The red, magical light that covered her took away her professional suit and exchanged it with a red and black spotted costume. Black colored her forearms- save for the palms and fingers -and bottom half of her legs, acting as boots and gloves. A bit of black covered the sides of her waist as well.

“Well, Felix?” Nathalie taunted, taking one of the two yo-yos that hung on the utility belt around her hips. “You said you wanted the earrings. Why don’t you come take them?”

Felix grit his teeth. “Fine with me. Using _Marinette’s_ miraculous will only make it more embarrassing for you when I get them back.”

Nathalie growled and slung her first yo-yo forward. Felix dodged and whipped around to grab the yo-yo string. Nathalie barely got a gasp of surprise out before he yanked on the string, causing her to fly forward. He hadn’t spent months as Le Paon lying around doing nothing. (Though that might have been part of it) No, he’d been _fighting_. Specifically against Ladybug and Chat Noir. He knew how her miraculous worked, and he knew it’s weaknesses. Most importantly, he knew that Nathalie knew _none_ of that. 

Nathalie hit the ground with a harsh grunt, but Felix didn’t have time to revel in her struggles. She cried out in rage and twisted her body to kick him in the legs. Felix fell forward, landing on top of Nathalie. She gasped, as he’d landed on her back, and struggled to get him off.

“Didn’t go as planned, huh?” He grunted, moving to grab one of her earrings. 

Unfortunately, his attention was briefly diverted before he could. The library doors were thrown wide open when someone fell through the doorway. Upon closer inspection, Felix realized it was _Hawkmoth_ who had gotten thrown out. Did Father transform? Where was Marinette?

Just then, Marinette jumped out of the doorway as well, still transformed and shouting for Gabriel to give up. 

Felix’s thoughts were once again redirected when Nathalie bucked her body upwards, causing him to fall back onto the floor. She lifted herself to her knees a moment later and reached for her yo-yo again. Felix twirled on the floor to start getting up as well, but kicked her hand to stall the drawing of her weapon.

Nathalie drew her hand back and hissed. “Infernal child!”

“Only for you.” Felix shot back, pushed himself to his feet. 

Nathalie was up a second later, and they got back to switching between chasing and hiding. She finally managed to unhook both of her yo-yos and started hurling them at Felix as fast as she could. Felix dodged them with the best of his ability, all the while jumping around the room for cover. She finally got one yo-yo wrapped around his left arm right when he reached the desk. Felix grappled for the desk chair in a desperate attempt to avoid being dragged back, but being a rolling chair, it only rolled back with him. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop him from using it to his advantage. Felix used the friction from his shoes to slow himself down right in front of Nathalie and swung the chair around with his free hand, smacking her in the side with it. Nathalie held up her forearms to block the blow, but flew to the side anyway. She slid to a stop, unfortunately still on her feet, and before Felix could detach the yo-yo from his arm, Nathalie yanked him forward once again and kicked him in the stomach.

Felix skidded across the floor, rolling to a stop at the office doorway. He sucked in ragged breaths to compensate for the air that had just been sucked out of his lungs. That was.. a decent move.

“Payback, brat.” Nathalie huffed, staggering back to regain her breath as well.

Felix lifted his head up to snap back at her when something made the words die in his throat.

“..My lady?” 

Felix turned on his side to look through the office doorway, praying that he’d misheard something. 

There Chat Noir stood, his cat ears flat against his head as he warily glanced between Marinette and Father, who had paused their battle to look at him. When did he get downstairs? Was Marinette trying to explain the situation?

“A- Chat Noir!” He called out. “Get back!”

He wanted Marinette to have help, but Adrien didn’t have the emotional stability to get involved. Father already had Ladybug’s earrings. If he found out who Chat Noir was, it would be nearly impossible to keep him from getting the ring.

Chat Noir’s eyes snapped to Felix’s, growing wide with surprise and worry. “Felix?”

Father followed Chat Noir’s gaze and raised a brow. Felix grimaced as he watched the gears turn in his Father’s mind, watched them click into place as Father realized how the hero knew where they were or why he seemed so worried about Felix.

“So.” Father began, turning back to Chat Noir. Felix couldn’t tell if he was delighted or angry. Probably a morbid twist or both. “My own son has been fighting against me.”

_Crap._

“What?” Marinette and Chat Noir said in unison, though Marinette’s surprise was more directed towards the implication of Chat Noir’s identity.

“No wonder Felix decided to betray me as Le Paon. He must have been worried for your sake. It had nothing to do with this _girl_!”

Chat Noir furrowed his eyebrows. So much emotion was swirling across his brother’s features- hurt, confusion, denial. Felix could barely stand it. 

“Wait..” He faltered, looking at Felix with a torn expression. “ _You’re_ Le Paon?”

“Don’t listen to him!” Felix begged, pushing himself to get up. He had to stop this. Adrien learning about Mother’s true condition was already a fragile subject in and of itself. Learning about Felix and Gabriel’s identities as the terrorists of Paris was bound to be too much. It would overwhelm anyone.

Before Felix could intervene, however, Father did the unthinkable. He detransformed. Right there. In front of everyone.

Felix couldn’t see his face, but Father’s tone was disturbingly pleased as he said, “Would I lie to you, Adrien?”

Chat Noir collapsed to the floor, staring up at their Father in horror. “No..”

“ _Adrien_?” Marinette blanched. The surprise was a tad out of place considering the emotional turmoil that Adrien had to be going through, but Felix understood.

Unfortunately, so did Father. Saying Adrien’s name wasn’t merely for dramatic effect. He knew that Marinette and Adrien were friends in civilian form. That kind of reveal would knock her off her feet just long enough for him to detransform like he did.

Gabriel smiled at Chat Noir’s reaction, and Felix knew right then and there that he’d been played for a fool. This miraculous search was _never_ about family. No father who truly cared for their family would smile at their child’s suffering.

Gabriel transformed again as Chat Noir was on his knees- on his _knees_! -and created an akuma. Felix jumped forward to stop it or get in the way, but Nathalie wrapped her yo-yo around his waist, planting him to the spot. Marinette was still too shocked to react quickly enough, so the akuma flitted forward, unbothered, and merged with Chat Noir’s bell.

“No!” Felix yelled. He jerked his body forward, pulling at the yo-yo string and pushing ahead with all of the strength he had. “Adrien, don’t do it! _Resist_ him!”

His shouting finally snapped Marinette out of her trance, and she rushed to Chat’s side. 

“Chat, it’s okay!” She tried to console despite the panic leaking through her voice. “We can get through this! Just fight it!”

“Against my _Father_?” Chat Noir whimpered back.

“Chat Blanc.”

Felix and Marinette held their breath when the purple outline appeared on Chat Noir’s face. Marinette threw one of her fans at Gabriel, but he easily dodged it as it twirled around the room to come back to her.

“Your brother is trying to decieve you, and your partner has misled you. I am trying to revive Emily, but to do that, I need your miraculous to do that.”

Chat Noir squeezed his eyes shut and drew his knees close to his chest, trying to drown out the words. 

Marinette wrapped her arms around him. “Adrien, Minou, Kitty, _please_! Don’t listen to him! Come _back_ to me.”

“ _Help_ me fight for you Mother, Adrien.” Gabriel persisted. “We can bring her back _together_. We can be a _family_ again.”

“We can.. We can bring her back?”

Felix’s heart sank. “Adrien, no!”

“Don’t do it!” Marinette pleaded.

“All I need is your cooperation.” Gabriel promised.

A tear slipped down Chat Noir’s cheek, and his purple mask dropped long enough for him to look Marinette in the eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“No!”

“Adrien!”

Black and purple bubbles swallowed Chat Noir whole, and Marinette scrambled backwards. When the bubbles disappeared, Chat Noir was gone, and Chat Blanc was left sitting there. His suit was the same as Chat Noir’s, except it was stark white and his green eyes were replaced with a chilling, ice blue. 

Felix tensed as Adrien slowly stood up and lifted his hand towards Marinette.

“My lady..” He said, forming a ball of light at the end of his finger tips. Felix didn’t want to see what that did. “Please.. stand down and give me your miraculous. I have to save my mother.”

Marinette held up a hand as well, but it was in a calming gesture. “Adrien, I’m _trying_ to save your mother! I have the power to heal her, but I need my miraculous back!”

Chat stalled, proving he had some of his sense left. “You can?”

Felix jerked forward again, but Nathalie kept him in the same place. “It’s true! Gabriel won’t give us Ladybug’s miraculous back because he wants to use the wish instead of letting Marinette heal her by herself!”

Gabriel glanced at Felix when he didn’t call him ‘Father’, but Felix kept his gaze on Adrien. If Gabriel thought that Felix would consider him anything close to family after this, he was more demented that Felix thought.

Chat turned his ball of light to Gabriel. “Is that true?”

“Of course not!” Gabriel spat. “They’re _lying_! They only want the earrings back to keep us from the wish!”

“No!” Felix protested. “The wish has a curse to it! If we use it to heal Mother, someone else will take her place and become comatose just like her! M- er -Ladybug can heal her _without_ that consequence!”

“Everything they say is a lie!” Gabriel yelled. “They’re only trying to manipulate you!”

“Adrien, you know me!” Marinette tried again. “We’ve been partners for months, confided in each other, and _risked_ our lives for each other. Please, I would never try to manipulate you, Minou.” 

Chat Blanc turned his ever-increasing ball of light from Felix, to Marinette, to Gabriel. His face grew more conflicted and grieved with each statement. They were all shouting at him and making it worse, but Felix couldn’t help pleading. He didn’t want Adrien to do something he would regret, and Marinette was so close to him..

Felix’s blood ran cold when Chat Blanc finally broke from the pressure.

“Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!” He screamed, jerking his hand downwards. In his loss of concentration, the ball of light shot from his fingertips, slamming right into the floor. It broke a hole straight to the basement within seconds, but the decay didn’t stop there. The rust spread to the rest of the main floor, covering every inch except the steps, the library, and the office that Felix was standing in. The ground crumbled beneath them, taking Gabriel, Marinette, and Adrien with it. 

“No!” Felix yelled, his heart stopping in his chest. His last fight with the slime monster flashed through his mind, when the debri and dust from the rooftop fell on top of him before everything went dark. How far was the main floor from the basement? Would Marinette survive the fall? Would _anyone_ survive the fall? Would they live through the debri that came after?

Felix whirled around and swung his foot through the air, catching the yo-yo string and stomping it to the ground. Nathalie, shell-shocked from seeing Gabriel fall, fell forward again, and Felix took that lenience in grip to slip out of the yo-yo string and run for the opening. 

Dust was flying everywhere now. He could hardly take a breath without coughing, let alone see clearly enough to find survivors. That didn’t stop him from kneeling on the ground and shouting for Marinette, though. She had to be somewhere. She would call up to him, perfectly fine, and everything would be alright.

So why couldn’t he hear anything?

Felix’s throat tightened as he screamed. He screamed her name over and over again into the abyss and didn’t hear a darned thing. It was silent, save for the occasionally crumbling of the debri below, and he was _terrified_. Where was she- _Where was she_? No, no, no, no-

“ _MARINETTE_!!”

Panicked and sick to his stomach with worry, Felix shot to his feet and turned to Nathalie, who had just started to recover from his sudden escape. She was the only one left that had a miraculous. The same miraculous that might be able to save Marinette and Adrien if Felix could get his hands on it in time. 

Nathalie barely caught a glimpse of his fist flying towards her face when he lunged at her.

~~~~~~

The room swayed in the darkness. Debri crumbled around her, yet it sounded distant, similar to an echo. Marinette drew in a breath, but immediately coughed it back out. The air was thick with dust, too thick. 

She opened her eyes, hoping to make out her surroundings amidst the tan clouds around her. A large stream of light poured down on her from the gaping hole in the floor above her. Unfortunately, it was too clouded for her to see anything _past_ the hole.

A voice floated down from above, but it was too faint to make out. She laid there for a moment, waiting to hear it again. 

Nothing.

Marinette sat up despite her body’s aching protest and scanned the room again. A few chunks of debri were scattered around her, but she had thankfully been untouched, aside from hitting the ground, that is. She curled her fingers together, feeling the gaps and patterns of the metal walkway underneath her. Where was she? Had they fallen to a basement of some sort?

“Felix?” She called out, a mix of hopeful and concerned towards what she might hear in response. Did he get caught in the fall too? He didn’t have a miraculous to protect him like they did. What if he’d gotten seriously injured?

“Adrien!” She called next. It might not be the smartest idea, but akumatized or not, she wanted to make sure that her partner was alright. There was also the possibility that the fall broke his akumatized item.

Her calls were only met with silence. 

_Beep! Beep!_

Marinette looked down at her miraculous, barely catching sight of the last feather leaving the fan before she detransformed. 

Duusu fell into her lap, looking absolutely exhausted. “Sorry, Miss Marinette.. Keeping you safe from injury takes a lot of work.”

Marinette offered a smile and softly petted the top of the kwami’s head. “It’s alright, Duusu. You’ve done plenty.”

Cupping the kwami in her palms, Marinette pushed herself to her feet and looked around. The dust was finally starting clear a bit, just enough for her to make out the room she’d fallen into. A grated, metal pathway led from the piled debri behind her to a small, garden-looking area up ahead. A flickering light above revealed some sort of casing in the middle of the greenery, also untouched by the caved in floor.

Curious, Marinette wandered towards it. The sides of the case shone as bright gold under that flickering lights, and the glass on top gave a white glare, making it hard to see through at first. 

_It’s strange,_ She thought, _to put such a large and beautiful case in a basement where no one will see it._

Why go through the trouble of making it at all? Was it simply not finished? 

She cupped her free hand on the glass and peered inside. Whatever this held- if anything -had to be extremely important. The flickering light didn’t help her to identify anything. It only allowed her to gather bits and pieces at a time. Something white was inside.. An outfit? It looked like a manikin was wearing it. But then she noticed hair. Golden hair that looked exactly like Adrian’s. And the face..

Marinette almost dropped Duusu from shock. 

“Emilie!” She gasped, not wanting to believe what she was seeing. Had Mlle. Agreste been here this whole time? Who keeps someone locked up like this? 

“Well, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.”

Marinette whipped around, pushing herself against the case from reflex. Gabriel stood in front of her, somehow still transformed, and he had a horribly malicious grin on his lips. 

_The debri must have missed him too._

“Now you truly know all of my secrets.” He mused, gesturing to the glass coffin behind her. “But I see it has cost you.”

Marinette held Duusu closer to her chest. She scanned the room behind Gabriel, but didn’t see Chat Blanc anywhere. “Where’s Adrien?”

Gabriel raised an uncaring brow. “I’m sure he’ll find his way back to the fight soon enough.”

Marinette shot him a glare. “How can you say that? He’s your _son_! Don’t you care about his well being at all?”

What if he’s hurt? Or worse, _dead_! She doesn’t have her miraculous to bring him back this time!

Gabriel scoffed. “The sooner you stop resisting, the sooner he will be healed with the miraculous. It’s ludicrous to care about injuries when they are easily reversible.”

“He still goes through the pain!” She couldn’t help yelling. “What about _that_?”

“He’ll _forget_ the pain.” Gabriel snapped back. “After all, it’s only temporary.” 

Marinette grit her teeth, but when she opened her mouth to reply-

“You _would_ think that.” A voice took the words right from her mouth. 

She looked up just in time to see someone swing in from the main floor. Although she couldn’t make out the face, Marinette recognized the voice immediately.

“Felix!” She cried, relief filling her chest. He must have avoided the fall. And he had her miraculous!

“Marinette.” He replied almost instantly, pure relief leaking through his tone as well.

Gabriel scowled at the boy as he entered their vision. A black and red costume indeed covered his body, signifying the fact that he was the new wielder of the Ladybug miraculous. 

“Where’s Nathalie?” Gabriel barked.

Felix pulled one of the two yo-yos off of his waist- why didn’t she ever think of having two yo-yos? -and smirked. “Safe. And out of your reach.”

Marinette smiled at the mocking comment, but Gabriel was less than amused. He sprang forward with a growl, causing Felix to jump back so he could keep the distance between them. Marinette remembered having to fall back to use her weapons properly. She always hated leaving Chat at the front lines, but long distance was her best vantage point when it came to yo-yos.

Felix swung both yo-yos in two perfect circles at his side as he moved backwards. As soon as he got the chance to pause in his movements, he threw the first yo-yo forward and latched it onto Gabriel’s staff, easily wrapping around it in a tight hold. Gabriel smirked at the supposed attack and yanked back on the staff to draw Felix forward, but Felix, expecting the reaction, immediately let go of the first yo-yo and threw his other yo-yo forward, quickly wrapping it around Gabriel’s arms and rendering them useless. He then dug his feet into the ground and pulled as hard as he could. 

Gabriel yelped as he flew towards him, and with the new momentum, Felix literally _swung_ Gabriel in a circle around the room. Marinette watched with wide eyes as the man crashed into a few debri piles. If she didn’t know any better, she might have thought that Felix had been using the Ladybug Miraculous all along. His movements were planned and meticulous. Even as he threw Gabriel back onto the metal walkway right in front of her, Marinette stood still, not feeling the need to flinch. It was glaringly obvious that Felix knew what he was doing.

“Give up.” Felix ordered, pulling the yo-yo string tighter around Gabriel as he stepped closer. “This battle is over.”

Gabriel, through coughs, looked up to sneer at Felix. Marinette thought he was going to go on a rant about disloyalty or vengeance, but, strangely, his head only cocked to the side slightly. 

“Yes, I believe it is.” He replied, his voice bone-chillingly gleeful.

Marinette’s gaze snapped upwards, just behind Felix where Gabriel was looking. A white figure had appeared in the dust and debri, standing with their arm raised directly at her and Felix.

Her eyes widened. 

“FELIX, LOOK-”

It was too late. The white blast of light hit the metal grate directly to their left, causing a destructive blast that pushed all three of them back. Gabriel took Felix’s imbalance as an opportunity to escape his bounds and scramble away from them. Marinette, however, groaned from the backlash of the blast and rubbed her head. Was there supposed to be a high-pitched ringing in her ears?

Through squinting eyes, she tried to search for a way out, all while fighting back a fresh headache. With Chat Blanc on his feet and fighting again and with Duusu still resting in her hand, Felix had no chance of winning this fight, especially now that Gabriel was free.

A hand gently grabbed her shoulder, and she looked up to see Felix next to her.

“Marinette.” He whispered, looking her over for injuries.

“Felix.” Marinette sighed in relief, putting her hand on his. _He’s okay._

Felix glanced over at Chat Blanc, who was quickly approaching. “I need to get you out of here.”

Marinette’s grip on his hand tightened. “I’m not leaving you.”

“Yes!” Gabriel cheered before Felix could reply. 

Maniacal laughter erupted from the man as he spread his arms out wide. “Well done, Adrien! Now, help your Father bring our family together again and get their miraculous!”

Marinette pulled Felix closer, preparing for the worst. If she was to truly die during this battle, at least his face would be the last thing she sees.

Chat Blanc, who had walked fully into the light at this point, stopped a few feet from Gabriel. His eyes bore into the man, blank and soulless. 

Marinette’s hand dug into Felix’s, and they exchanged glances. Something wasn’t right. Before the fall, Adrien had been showing the most conflict and emotion she’d ever seen in her life, but now he looked.. He looked empty, hollow.. gone.

Slowly, Chat Blanc raised his hand again, this time aiming his blast right at Gabriel. “I have no father.”

A shiver ran down Marinette’s spine, and Felix sucked in a breath next to her. Whoever stood in front of them now, it _wasn’t_ Adrien.

Gabriel staggered back a step, pure terror in his voice as he stuttered, “W-What?”

Chat Blanc stepped forward, the ball of light growing in his hand.

“Don’t worry.” He remarked, his tone completely devoid of emotion. “After all, ‘Pain is only temporary’.. Right?”

The ball of light shot from his fingertips, hitting Gabriel directly in the chest. Gabriel opened his mouth to scream, but the decay swallowed him whole before his voice could even reach the air. Marinette gasped, watching Gabriel’s ashes fall to the floor. Did that really just happen? 

Chat Blanc stared at the pile of dust, not an ounce of regret on his face. Marinette noticed that there wasn’t any satisfaction in his expression either. 

He looked up, locking eyes with her, and Marinette tensed. Felix leaned forward enough to put a protective arm in front of her. Chat Blanc, noticing the shift, glanced at Felix as well. Then he started to move towards them, his steps slow and dragged out. 

“Easy, there..” Felix muttered, bringing his yo-yo forward. 

Marinette held her breath. If he could kill Gabriel- gosh, he killed him! -then he could get rid of _them_ just as easily.

Chat Blanc stopped in front of them, his eyes still focused on Marinette. She met his gaze, not daring to look away. 

_If you’re anywhere in there, Adrien, please.._

Suddenly, Chat Blanc dropped to his knees, rattling the metal walkway. Marinette flinched, but didn’t back away. In fact, she found herself reaching forward. He looked so broken, so lost..

“Please..” He croaked, a single tear streaming down his cheek. “Save me.”

Marinette’s heart shattered at the words, and she brushed his tear away. “Of course, kitty.”

She looked to Felix, who nodded and stood up. He quickly called his lucky charm, and on queue, Marinette broke the bell around Adrien’s neck. The akuma fluttered out, and Felix slung his yo-yo forward to capture it.

“Oh, wait one second.” Marinette spoke up, grabbing his arm before he could throw the miraculous cure.

Felix gave her a questioning look, and she gestured to the pile of ash behind her. 

“I have to get something.”

With a quickness, for Chat’s sake, Marinette hopped over to Gabriel’s- er - _remains_ and knelt down next to them. She cringed as she reached forward, pushing through the uneasiness to move the ash around. It had to be there somewhere..

“Ah- hah!” She sat up, taking the butterfly miraculous with her. Master Fu had mentioned a while back that the miraculous were indestructible, and Marinette didn’t want Gabriel to keep his powers when he was resurrected. That would be like falling into a torturous loop of fighting, especially since Chat won’t remember anything when the cure is cast.

“Okay.” She said, jumping back over to Felix with the miraculous in hand. “Do it.”

Felix nodded and threw the lucky charm into the air. Marinette closed her eyes as the Ladybugs washed over her, allowing a small smile to spread across her lips. She’d always wondered what it would be like to be on the other side of this.

“Don’t worry.” She whispered to Chat Blanc, running her hands through his snow white hair during their last moments together. “I promise you’re gonna be okay.”

_We all are._


	20. Chapter 20

Adrien’s eyes fluttered open, the room around him blurring into view. The mansion’s ceiling lay above him, white and tall, and he could vaguely sense the way his body was sprawled out across the floor. Why was he on the floor? When did he come downstairs from the bedroom?

“No!”

Adrien flinched at the scream and sat up, ignoring the light headedness from doing so. 

Father was on the floor a few feet in front of him, scowling and writhing to escape the yo-yo that was tied around him. Adrien followed the string to its holder, half expecting to see Ladybug. Instead, he saw a boy with pale blonde hair that was slicked back and dyed red at the tips.

“You can’t do this!” His father continued, regaining Adrien’s attention. “This is betrayal, Felix! You’ll be disowned from our family! Your mother will never trust or love you once I’m gone!”

Adrien’s eyes widened. Why was _Felix_ wearing the Ladybug miraculous? And where was Ladybug?

_“My Lady?”_

_“Would I lie to you, Adrien?”_

_“Chat Noir, get back!”_

_“I’m sorry.”_

Memories hit Adrien like a truck as the fog in his mind cleared, and he winced, his hands shooting to his head. Had he seen all of that right? Was Father really Hawkmoth? Has he been Hawkmoth this entire time? How did Adrien not notice? Wasn’t he supposed to be a hero?

“Adrien!”

His spiraling thoughts were briefly shattered when Marinette threw herself around him in a hug.

“Oh, Minou, I’m so sorry! Are you alright? Are you hurt?” She asked frantically. How long had she been there? Did she get caught in the fight or hide before it happened?

_Wait, did she just call me-_

Adrien looked down at her, and she pulled back to check him for injuries, grief and worry plastered across her expression.

“.. Ladybug?”

Marinette paused, offering him a sheepish smile. “Hey, kitty.”

“ _You’re_ Ladybug?” He asked again, his jaw dropping to the floor. Looking back at it now, Marinette being Ladybug made perfect sense, but still! First his father, now Marinette- was he just blind to everything?

“Is he alright?”

Adrien’s gaze flicked back to the new Ladybug holder, who still had their foot firmly on Gabriel’s back. _Ah, yes. Let’s not forget my brother’s part in this._

“Yes, he’s fine.” Marinette answered, before turning back to Adrien. “You _are_ fine, right?”

Adrien nodded, though he wouldn’t exactly describe himself as ‘fine’. He just discovered that both of his family members are super-villains, for Pete’s sake. What was going to happen to them now? 

“Marinette..” He began, not taking his eyes off of Felix. “Is he really..?”

_“Is he really Le Paon?”_

Marinette followed his gaze and sighed. “..Yes.”

“How long have you known?” Because at this point, how could she _not_ have known? She had to have gotten Felix’s peacock miraculous at some point, and Adrien doubted it was anytime after they arrived at the mansion.

“Only two days.” She admitted. “I’m sorry. I was going to tell you, I just couldn’t find the right time.”

“No, it’s okay.” Adrien assured, a hint of irritation rising in his voice. “It looks like everyone else has been keeping secrets from me, anyway.”

He didn’t mean to make the biting remark, but he couldn’t help it. He’d been running around as Chat Noir thinking that he was on top of things and that his lady shared everything with him. He thought they had an unbreakable bond built on mutual trust and respect, but _obviously_ , that was wrong. He thought that he knew everything about his brother, but _obviously_ , that was _wrong_. He thought that, although his father could be cold, he would never be the type of person to hurt others so recklessly, but _obviously, all of that was wrong_! Everything he thought he knew was a _lie_! 

Adrien clenched his fists. You know what? He didn’t even care about Father being a terrorist! What he _did_ care about, was the fact that he trusted _Felix_ with that fact and not him. Why? Was Adrien not _good enough_? After everything he’d done to please him? Why didn’t Felix tell Adrien about the peacock miraculous as soon as he had it? Weren’t they supposed to be close? Why was it that no one seemed to find him worthy of dependence? Was he _that_ unreliable?

A part of him understood. Marinette didn’t want to compromise Felix, and Felix probably didn’t want to drag Adrien into the mess he’d gotten himself into. That didn’t stop the feeling of betrayal or grief or guilt from twisting into his heart and eating away at him from the inside out. Even if they _didn’t_ trust him, he should have known. He should have figured out that Felix was Le Paon from the very beginning. If he had, maybe he could have stopped him before it got out of hand..

Tears burned in the corner of his eyes. All he’d wanted was to live a normal life, with supportive friends and a loving family. Why did _this_ have to be the reality? What could he have possibly done to warrant such a harsh punishment?

Adrien wiped away a tear and forced himself to his feet. As furious as he was with himself and everyone else, now was not the time to sulk. They had Hawkmoth and Le Paon, and he needed to focus.

He walked over to Felix, who was still holding a writhing Gabriel to the floor. Felix looked up in a silent acknowledgement towards his presence. It was hard to detect behind the red and black mask, but Adrien noticed a flicker of shame and guilt reflecting in Felix’s eyes as well. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Felix asked after a moment. 

Adrien shrugged. “As alright as I can be.. What about you?”

Felix glanced down at Gabriel. “I’ve got a few scrapes and bruises, but it’s nothing I don’t deserve.”

Something about that comment struck Adrien. Maybe it was the way Felix said it so softly, or how he avoided Adrien’s eyes, but it made Adrien realize that he wasn’t the only victim in this situation. Felix has gone through a lot too. It couldn’t have been easy putting others in danger for the sake of their mother, and he obviously regretted it. 

Adrien put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “We all make mistakes, right?”

In the end, Felix was only trying to do what any normal person would have done. He was trying to save someone precious. Adrien couldn’t fault him for that.

Felix met Adrien’s eyes, clearly surprised. He hadn’t expected to be forgiven.

“You two have a lot to talk about.” Marinette spoke up. 

Felix glanced at Marinette, his expression immediately softening. Adrien smiled at the sight. He couldn’t wait for them to finally get together.

“This is madness!” Gabriel spat, regaining their attention. “You’ll all pay for this!”

“Save it.” Felix growled, pushing the man down with his foot. “I think we’ve heard enough from you.”

“What do you guys want to do with him?” Marinette asked, shooting Gabriel a glare. “It’s your decision.”

Adrien frowned. That was a good question. What _did_ they want to do with him? Father didn’t appear to be regretful towards his actions. If they let him go now, he would probably keep coming after their miraculous. So what should they do?

“Call the police.” Felix said. 

“ _What_?!” Gabriel blanched.

“Felix, are you sure?” Marinette asked.

Felix nodded. “If he’s not convicted about hurting others, then he’s dangerous. We need to turn him in.”

“Adrien?”

Adrien sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “..I agree with Felix. We can’t trust him.”

“This is outrageous!” Gabriel protested. “You can’t put your own father behind bars!”

“You stopped being our father a _long_ time ago.” Felix snapped. “Now you’ll pay for your actions.”

“I’ll go get the phone.” Adrien announced, spinning on his heel to head for the office. Turning his own father into the police felt like knives sinking into his chest, but it had to be done. For the safety of Paris _and_ for the safety of Marinette and Felix. Hopefully one day, Father will understand.

~~~~~~

Felix watched the police officers drag Gabriel into the cop car. He was screaming and spitting curses the whole way, with Nathalie not far behind him. She’d been knocked out cold on the floor from their previous fight, but as soon as she woke up, she attempted to help Gabriel escape, ultimately making herself an accomplice. 

A part of Felix felt guilty for not stepping forward as well. He’d fought beside Gabriel for months, after all. Shouldn’t he take the blame? Was it right to be relieved of all consequences for his treacherous actions? 

A soft pat on his shoulder dragged Felix’s gaze from the cop car to Adrien, who was standing next to him. Conflict reflected in his brother’s eyes, and the grief of the situation tugged his lips into a frown. Felix couldn’t blame him. Despite everything that’s transpired, Adrien still had a big heart. He wouldn’t want to outright reject Gabriel as a parental figure just yet.

Talking Adrien down after he woke up had not been a simple task and explaining the relations between himself and Marinette that took place beforehand had been even harder. Adrien always loathed secrets. Knowing that his closest friends and family had been withholding a mountain of information for that long was a hard blow. 

Thankfully, however, Adrien was extremely understanding in the end, and Felix gained a newfound respect for his little brother that he hadn’t had before. 

“Thank you for your service, Ladybug.” M. Roger smiled.

Felix glanced at Marinette. During their wait for the police, he managed to give her earrings back to her so she could transform. It was a struggle, considering Gabriel was still furious, but they did it. Adrien offered to transform as well, but Marinette declined, saying it might be suspicious if Adrien wasn’t present during the arrest. Felix was grateful to have her advice, because hoards of reporters had swarmed the mansion within the time it took to get handcuffs on Gabriel and walk him outside. The other police officers were holding them back, but only just.

Ladybug returned the cop’s smile. “Of course! As long as the people of Paris are safe.”

“It’s too bad you didn’t get Le Paon. We’ll have to keep an eye out for him.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry.” Ladybug assured, flashing Felix a secret smile. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing him anymore.”

Roger cop nodded, oblivious of the inside joke that had just passed before him. “That’s good to hear. Where Chat Noir? Aren’t you two partners?”

“He ran out of time and had to go detransform, but he was a big help.” Ladybug replied. “I couldn’t have done this without him.”

Felix noticed Adrien’s small, grateful smile. It gave him hope that everything might actually turn out alright after this.

“We’ll have to thank you both when we can then.” Roger cop mused. “Maybe the Mayor will throw you a party in your honor.”

Ladybug chuckled. “That’s very generous, but it’s not necessary. We were only doing our jobs.”

“I don’t think a celebration would hurt.” Felix spoke up. “You deserve it after saving everyone.”

 _After saving me._ He mentally adds. She’d deserve everything in the world even if she hadn’t given him a second chance. 

Ladybug shot him a side glance, her lips pursing to hide her smile. “And would _you_ be attending this celebration, M. Agreste?”

“To be in company with our gallant heroes?” Felix remarked. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Ladybug hummed, her eyes narrowing with amusement. Gosh, he loved this woman. 

“You guys better stop flirting in front of the paparazzi.” Adrien murmured in Felix’s ear, though his teasing smile was evident. “You might end up on the front page.”

Felix felt himself flush. His first inclination was to turn and snap at his brother, but the comment was sound advice. The cameras around them were still flashing, even though Gabriel and Nathalie’s cop car had left the premises. 

“Well, I need to get going.” Ladybug said, her gaze slipping back to M. Roger. “I trust you to keep these boys safe.”

M. Roger straightened and gave her a salute. “You can count on me, Ma’am!”

Ladybug smiled and threw out her yo-yo. Only Felix and Adrien caught her wink in their direction as she swung off to the rooftops. She’d be detransforming in an alleyway not far from them. That meant the boys needed to get inside before she reached the back entrance again.

“I think you boys have been through enough today.” M. Roger spoke up, patting Felix and Adrien’s heads. “Why don’t you two go inside and rest? We’ll take it from here.”

Felix pushed down his displeasure towards being touched in such a casual manner and nodded. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, thanks!” Adrien said, plastering a smile across his lips. 

Taking the convenient opportunity while it lasted, the boys shuffled inside of the mansion where Gorilla was waiting. He’d been the one to detain Nathalie when she broke loose, and Felix was extremely grateful for it. When the world was crumbling around them, it was nice to know that he and Adrien had had _someone_ in the Agreste mansion that they were able to fully rely on.

Gorilla closed the door behind them and grunted his concerns, but the boys assured him that they were alright. At least, they _would_ be. It would take time to adjust to their new life. Gabriel has been telling them how to eat, sleep, dress, and _live_ for the better half of two years. The sudden freedom was going to be.. admittedly strange.

“So.. Does this mean that we’re orphans now?” Adrien commented thoughtfully.

Felix rose a brow. “Adrien, orphans are kids whose parents have died.”

“I don’t know about you, but Father’s dead to me.”

A surprised laugh burst from Felix’s lips. “Yes, but the term ‘orphans’ refers to the _literal_ definition of death. Besides, we still have Mother.”

Adrien’s smile faltered. “Yeah.. do you really think she’ll be able to heal her?”

Felix lightly touched his side, feeling over the bullet scar. “I think we should have some faith in her.”

Adrien nodded, his smile returning full force. “You two have really gotten close, huh? I can’t believe you kissed her, and I didn’t even know!”

Felix chuckled, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. “It’s not like I could have told you.”

Adrien laughed. “Like you would have either way!”

Felix shrugged. That was true.

“Hey, guys!”

The boys turned to see Marinette waving them down as she ran in from the kitchen. Felix smiled and walked forward, meeting her half way. 

“Sorry, it took me so long.” Marinette huffed, coming to a stop in front of Felix. “I had to make sure the police didn’t see me come in.”

“You didn’t take long.” Felix promised. He reached up to brush her disheveled bangs aside, and she leaned into his touch with a contented sigh. He couldn’t help smiling at her expression. Giddiness and peace and relief littered her features. It made his heart skip knowing that he was the reason for such a breathtaking look.

With keeping Gabriel at bay and explaining things to the police, Felix had barely gotten time to accept the fact that Marinette was _alive_ and _okay_. And now that they finally had a moment to relax, all he wanted to do was pull her close and never let her go.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” He asked softly, brushing his thumbs across her cheeks simply to feel her warmth. “You can rest if you need to.”

Marinette closed her eyes, reveling in his touch as well, and lightly grabbed his wrists. “I’ll be fine.”

Felix nodded. He’d never healed someone with magic before and, therefore, wasn’t certain of the physically or emotional backlash that might occur. If she said that she was ready, though, he would take her word for it.

“Oh my _gosh_ ,” Adrien grinned, “I’ve never seen you so sappy in my entire _life._ ”

Felix swatted at his brother with a glare, but Marinette giggled. 

“You should see him when he’s at _my_ house.” She said, only embarrassing him further. “He’s even carried me bridal style around Paris.”

“That was _one time_!” Felix defended, though he wasn’t sure what he was defending. He wouldn’t hesitate to carry her around Paris again. The argument that night hadn’t been fun, but the feeling of her in his arms had infected his mind for weeks afterwards. It still did now. 

Adrien put his hands on his hips. “Wow. And here I thought that you were never going to be the one to confess first.”

Felix scowled, but Marinette’s hand slipping into his promptly dissipated any on-coming rage.

“Nope! The confession was all him. He _did_ say it right before he took my miraculous, though..” Marinette remarked.

Adrien gasped. “Felix! I thought you would be better than that.”

Felix’s fingers tightened around Marinette’s hand, and he sighed. “You guys are never going to let me live that down, are you?”

The pair chuckled, and Marinette pushed herself onto her tiptoes to give Felix a chaste kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t worry. We’ll stop teasing you about it.. Eventually.” She promised, a mischievous glint reflecting in her bluebell eyes. Felix might have been disgruntled about the comment had his chest not been swirling with warmth from her touch. He supposed he deserved the treatment anyway. 

“Oh, I need to get going!” Marinette gasped, suddenly remembering the task at hand.

Felix furrowed his eyebrows. “Get going where?”

“You want me to heal Mlle. Agreste, right?” Marinette replied. “I can do that, but I’m going to need some help.”

Help? Who could possibly help her in this situation? The only people who knew about the miraculous were in this room or on their way to jail.

..Right?

~~~~~~

Marinette staring up at the large dome of metal above them as the elevator came to a stop. Seeing Felix activate a secret elevator by pressing secret buttons on a painting had been a surreal experience. Gabriel must have jumped through a lot of hoops to keep Emilie hidden. It made it all the more shocking to know that Felix had actually discovered the elevator on his own, without Gabriel’s help. 

Now that the rubble and debri from the fight was clear, Marinette got a much better picture of the secret basement that she’d previously fallen into. The metal walkway stretched out in front of her, cutting through loads of greenery around the room. Her footsteps echoed as though she were in a tunnel, and almost everything was dark and dreary, save for the beam of light that shined on Emilie’s golden coffin. The set-up vaguely reminded Marinette of an abandoned cathedral.

“How long has this been down here?” Adrien asked in front of her. The elevator was two small to take all of them at once, so Felix had everyone take turns.

“I don’t know.” Felix admitted, coming to stand next to Marinette. “Ever since Mother disappeared, I imagine.”

“I can’t believe he would go to such lengths to keep her here.” Marinette commented, absently lacing her fingers with Felix’s.

Felix gave her hand a soft squeeze. “I still can’t believe that old man is really a miraculous guardian.”

“Hey, now.” Master Fu spoke up, glancing over his shoulder to shoot Felix a wry smile. “I’m only 186. I’ve still got a good few years left ahead of me.”

“I found you mugged in an alley.” Felix retorted.

“Did you?” Master Fu shot back, a mischievous glint coming to his eyes. “Or did _I_ find _you_?”

Felix scrunched up his nose in a mix of annoyance and confusion, causing Marinette to giggle. The shocked gasp that had flown from Felix’s lips when she brought Fu back to the mansion had made her regret that she didn’t have a camera. His face was completely twisted with confusion and disbelief, and she was certain that it had been the most expressive thing he’d ever done in his life.

Naturally, Adrien had been more confused than shocked, but once she was able to explain everything, he got excited. Finding out he had hidden powers gave him a sudden urge to study and learn about his miraculous all over again. Of course, they decided that that could wait until _after_ they healed Emilie.

“Thank you for coming, Master Fu.” Marinette said warmly. “I really appreciate it.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Adrien agreed. “Maybe when this is over, you can show me how to unlock _my_ inner power!”

Master Fu chuckled. “All in good time, Chat Noir, and it’s an honor to help you. Shall we get started?”

Marinette nodded, and they made their way across the room to Emilie’s coffin. She looked as peaceful as ever, almost like she’d lain down for a simple nap. How had her body stayed intact all this time? A coma doesn’t cause your body to decay, but it _would_ keep you from eating or drinking. How had Gabriel kept her fed and healthy?

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, Marinette reached forward to open the glass casing. How she was still alive didn’t matter. The point was that she _was_ alive, and Marinette was going to heal her.

“Remember what I taught you.” Master Fu said beside her as she touched Emilie’s forearm. “Clear your mind. Focus on your connection with Tikki. Feel the magic in your soul and transfer it to Emilie through your shared life force.”

Marinette drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. _Feel the magic in your soul._

Her hand tightened around Felix’s as she concentrated her thoughts on Tikki, on life, on healing. Everything around her fell away, save for the life force that Marinette was envisioning. She imagined refilling Emilie’s light with her own, as though she were the pitcher of water and Emilie was the glass that she was pouring into.

Slowly, Marinette felt the spark of magic between her fingers, felt it move to Emilie’s forearm and trail up her body. It took a lot of discipline to not open her eyes as Emilie’s body started glowing a soft pink.

“Wow..” She heard Adrien whisper behind her.

Marinette squeezed her eyes to close them further. She needed to block everything out if this was going to work. 

Emilie’s soft glow turned into a shining light, growing brighter and brighter as Marinette transferred more magic into her. Then, when it became blinding, the light started fading again. 

Marinette’s breath caught in her throat when the light finally stopped, and her eyes fluttered open. _Please be healed.._

Emilie remained motionless. Her skin remained pale and lifeless. They waited, hoping beyond all hope for movement, but nothing came.

“It didn’t work..” Marinette whispered, the realization washing over her like a bucket of ice water. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t heal their mother.

“Oh, Felix-” A sob choked out her words, and she put a hand over her mouth. After all of that fighting and planning and practicing.. She still wasn’t able to help them. “Felix, I’m so sorry.”

Felix pulled her into a tight hug, using his free hand to brush through her hair. “It’s alright, it’s fine. You did the best you could.”

Despite his attempts to sound soothing or composed, Marinette could hear the distress in his voice, the heartache. She buried her face into his shoulder, feeling pain lace through her chest as well. 

With everyone huddling together to share their comforts and sorrows, no one noticed the slight gasp that passed Emilie’s lips, or how her fingers twitched.


	21. Epilogue

Marinette hopped up the front steps to the Agreste mansion, a bright grin on her lips. She didn’t bother knocking on the large, wooden doors before pushing them open. That formality had been thrown out the window a while ago. 

“Good afternoon, Mlle. Marinette.” A woman at the front desk greeted her as she walked inside.

“Hello, Mlle. Marie.” Marinette smiled at the brunette. “How are you today?”

Marie returned her smile. “Oh, busy as usual. I’ve informed Felix that you arrived.”

Marinette nodded. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

Soon after Nathalie and Gabriel’s arrest, they hired a new secretary to help sort through the Agreste business. She was a young woman in her twenties and extremely sweet. Marinette liked to consider her a friend.

“Marinette.”

The call of her name brought Marinette’s attention to the library across the main floor, where Felix was just now exiting. 

“Sorry for the wait.” He apologized as he closed the gap between them. “I was finishing a chapter from my book.”

Marinette chuckled. “So your book is more important than my company?”

“Of course not.” Felix laughed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him. “You’re my top priority.”

Marinette hummed. “Is that so? I’m not sure I believe you.”

Felix snorted and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on her lips. Marinette, of course, sank into it and wrapped her arms around his neck. No matter how often they kissed now-a-days, it still felt like the first time, skipping her heart and melting her insides.

They broke apart, if only for the sake of Marie, but Felix stayed close enough that she could still feel his breath on her lips as he said, “Do you believe me now?” 

Marinette giggled, touching her forehead to his. She hoped that this warmth flooding her chest never went away. “I don’t know.. You might have to try harder to convince me.”

A soft laugh passed Felix’s lips, but before he could pull her into another kiss, another voice rang across the mansion.

“Hey, Bugaboo! I didn’t know you were coming today.”

Marinette leaned back to give Adrien a smile. “Felix invited me. He says that we haven’t spent enough time together lately.”

“Didn’t he say that when you visited two days ago?” Adrien replied, a knowing grin on his lips.

Marinette nodded. “And the evening after he visited my house the night before that.”

“It’s still true.” Felix defended, lacing his fingers behind Marinette’s back to keep her close to him. “Anytime spent without you is a waste.”

A blush bloomed across Marinette’s cheeks, and she wondered if her smile could get any bigger.

“Is that my future daughter-in-law I hear?”

The boys perked up, immediately whirling around to see Emilie standing at the top of the stairway. She gave them all a warm smile and started her descent to meet them on the main floor.

“Mom!”

“Mother.”

Adrien jumped to help Emilie make her way down the steps, and Felix followed behind him, taking Marinette’s hand to drag her along as well. She would have walked with them anyway, but she wasn’t going to complain about Felix holding her hand.

Emilie waved Adrien away with a laugh. “Oh, don’t fuss over me. The doctor said that I need to work on moving alone anyway.”

“I just don’t want you to fall.” Adrien said, stopping next to her.

Emilie wrapped an arm around him in a side hug. “I know, dear, and I appreciate the sentiment. I still need to practice by myself, though.”

Felix stepped forward as well, and Emilie gave him a chaste kiss on the forehead before turning to Marinette and holding out her hand.

Marinette gladly obliged the silent request and moved forward to receive a side hug of her own. “How are you getting along? Does anything hurt?”

Emilie shook her head. “I’m doing wonderfully thanks to you, sweetheart. I just got the ‘okay’ to walk around without my crutches yesterday too. The doctor thinks I’ll be in perfect condition in about a month or so’s time.”

“That’s good to hear, Mlle. Agreste.” Marinette smiled. “I’m glad you’re doing well.”

They’d gotten quite a scare when Emilie didn’t wake up after Marinette’s attempts to heal her. Marinette had thought that she failed, that she went through all the trouble of getting her miraculous back for a lost cause. 

Thankfully, however, that didn’t turn out to be the case, as Emilie woke up a few minutes later. Her reaction to the magic hadn’t been immediate, but it still worked. That was all Marinette could have hoped for. 

Emilie shot her a playfully stern look. “Now, now, we’ve talked about this. Just because I’m your employer doesn’t mean you have to address me formally. Call me ‘Emilie’.”

Marinette chuckled. “I’m glad you’re doing well, Emilie.”

Emilie nodded, a satisfied smile gracing her lips. “Speaking of which, does my top designer have any new sketches for me?”

Due to Gabriel’s forced retirement, Emilie became the new CEO of the Gabriel brand. She started off by throwing away the strict guidelines that Gabriel had been wrapping around his staff and hired a handful of new people to stretch out the creativity. One of those people included Marinette.

“I’ve been experimenting with a few things.” Marinette admitted. 

“Good, good! Let’s all talk over a cup of tea.” Emilie beamed. She paused at the bottom of the stairs and turned to Marie. “Marie, darling, would you be so kind as to get us some Ruby Oolong tea?”

Marie stood from her desk chair. “Of course, Mademoiselle. Shall I bring it to the living room?” 

“Yes, please.”

The group moved to the living room, while Marie left for the kitchen. Marinette and Felix took the love seat, naturally, and Felix made sure there was little space between them as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Adrien and Emilie sat down on the three-cushion couch, both throwing a teasing smile to the couple.

“You two have no shame, do you?” Adrien joked.

Marinette giggled and leaned into Felix’s shoulder. “Should we?”

“No, not at all.” Emilie replied hastily. “It’s good to see Felix so happy.”

Marie joined them in the living room a few minutes later, holding a tray that had three cups and a small kettle on it. She set it down on the coffee table and began filling the cups with tea. Then, upon their requests, she put a certain amount of sugar or honey into each of the cups. 

“Please enjoy.” Marie said after handing out the drinks.

“Thank you very much.”

With her job finished, the secretary scurried out of the room so she could return to her paperwork, and Emilie continued the conversation.

“She’s such a lovely lady.” Emilie remarked, taking a sip of her tea. “Always willing to help.”

Marinette nodded in agreement. “It’s always a pleasure to talk with her.”

Emilie hummed and reached forward to grab the tv remote. She clicked a round button on the corner of the device, and the tv in front of them flickered on. A woman appeared on the screen, flashing the camera a bright smile as she talked. 

~Yes, two months has passed since big-time fashion icon Gabriel Agreste was taken into custody and charged with terrorism for being the infamous villain known as ‘Hawkmokth’. Unfortunately, his assailant known as ‘Le Paon’ is yet to be found.~

A smile found its way onto Marinette’s lips, and she glanced up at Felix.

“That’s quite a shame.” Emilie commented, holding the same smile. She threw Felix a mischievous look. “Don’t you think?”

Felix smirked. 

“Quite.”


End file.
